Ripples
by SquallCullen
Summary: The Sequel to Shimmers. Our Heroes are back in New York, but Wonderland still plays a big part in their life. See Alice and Hatter figure out their lives together. A/H, D/J, C/R Rated M for lemony chapters!
1. Chapter 1

"Carol, I know that that greeting doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, and I know that you're hoping I can explain myself, but the fact of the matter is simple. I love your daughter. The rest isn't that important." Carol looks over at Alice, subconsiously standing slightly behind Hatter, her right arm tucked into his back, her left hand gripping his left arm, which is extended back protectively, his hand splaying across Alice's thigh. Carol again calls Alice's name, the same confused and hopeful tone. Alice steps out from around Hatter, sliding her right arm around to replace her left as she addresses her mom.

"Mom, obviously, some things have happened. The trick is that if I told you exactly what has happened, you won't believe me. I didn't believe me until I looked up and saw Hatter." Carol is even less mollified by this tone, she finally puts forth her complaints.

"I just don't understand this Alice. Last night, we had dinner with your boyfriend Jack, whom you claimed was different than all the other boys you've brought around to meet me. He gave you a ring and you raced after him, I assumed to return it. An hour later, I go looking for you and there is this man, David or Hatter or whatever his name is, clutching your unconscious body. I think, regardless of how likely I am to believe you or not, you had better try to explain because this is like something out of a horror movie." Carol's tone is now full blown panicked so Alice takes both of her hands and leads her into the dining room, looking back and gesturing at Hatter to follow her. Once everyone is settled, Alice facing her mother with Hatter to her left, Alice begins her tale.

"Try to keep an open mind mom, please? So last night, I ran outside to give Jack back his ring when I heard sounds of a struggle, I went over and saw two men throw Jack into a white van and drive away." Carol gasps in horror and Alice laughs a little. "Trust me mom, that is one of the tamest things that happened to me over the past four days." Carol shoots her a look, but Alice continues. "Well I couldn't follow the van but this man stepped out the shadows and asked me for the ring. I slipped it on my finger and let him take the empty box. I followed him into the abandoned building where they found me, but I'd lost him. I fell into a mirror, and instead of all the pain and glass, I was transported to a different world." Carol looks skeptical. "Open mind mom, remember?" The woman rolls her eyes but nods. Alice continues, deciding that getting it all out in one go is probably best, that way she'll see that Hatter hasn't brain washed her, he's the one that saved her.

"Well I was tricked into a room that shrank down into a crate and it air lifted me away. I escaped and fell into the river. I swam ashore and ended up meeting Hatter. He promised to introduce me to some friends who would help me get Jack back. When we went to meet these friends, they turned on us and shot Hatter!" Carol, engrossed in the drama, looks over at Hatter, concerned. He flushes.

"I was wearing body armor at the time." Carol nods like that is an everyday occurrence and then gestures for Alice to continue.

"Well we escaped those crazies and on the way back to Hatter's tea shop, we almost bumped into another mob out to find me. We ran from them, and escaped in Hatter's boat to the forest, where we ended up running from a Jabbermonkey." Hatter guffaws.

"It's a Jabberwock luv, not a Jabbermonkey." Alice sticks her tongue out.

"If you're finished interrupting…? Thank you." She turns back to her mom, who asks "What's a Jabberwock?" Hatter smiles at Alice before explaining.

"They're really big, funny looking creatures. Big fat heads with crooked teeth and googly eyes and really long feelers attached to a dinosaur body by a thin neck. They've got spikes all down their back and their front feet look like hands. They're a little dumb, but they are always very hungry and anything is fair gam-" He stops explaining when Alice touches his arm and shakes her head no, gesturing to Carol's shocked stare. Hatter looks sheepish before Alice continues.

"We fell into a pit and the Jabberwock left when he couldn't get us." Carol's gasp doesn't stop Alice's story. "A knight named Charlie showed us to his camp where we spent the night. Charlie and Hatter told me that Jack was at the Casino and to go there was too dangerous." Carol sighs knowingly, Alice can be so headstrong sometimes. Alice just continues, anxious to get this story over with. "I snuck out of the camp and got myself caught after hiding the ring in the camp. When I got to the casino, the Queen interrogated me, but I just kept asking to see Jack. Eventually he showed up, but instead of my poor, kidnapped boyfriend Jack Chase, I find out he was the Queen's son, Jack Heart, AND he was engaged to a Duchess!" Her mom grasps her hand as she gasps aloud.

"But he tried to give you a ring! Is he mormon?" Alice shakes her head no and Hatter tilts his head quizzically. She ignores him and continues. "

They tried to get me to tell them where the ring was by putting me in this room where the floorboards fall down into a big pit, but Hatter saved me in the knick of time." She smiles fondly at him and Carol also casts him a grateful glance, aware that Alice doesn't like step stools, nevermind deep pits. Her glance is pulled back to Alice as she speaks. "We escaped again and ended up back at the camp. Hatter went back to get his friends to help and they said they would send someone out. Well Jack shows up and it turns out he's a member of a resistance faction trying to overthrow his mother. So he was bringing me, on horse back, to meet one of his posse, when my horse ran off. Hatter chased it down and saved me again and we had to camp out in this really creepy forest. We made it back to Jack the next day and he explained that the guy we were going to meet was the the head honcho of the Resistance." Alice briefly considers telling her mom about her dad, but that will be a really rough conversation and her mom would be devastated if she falls apart in front of Hatter.

"We were captured again and I was supposed to be banished back here and Jack was supposed to be killed and they were torturing Hatter, it was terrible for everyone. But somehow we all escaped, Hatter and I destroyed the Evil Queen's empire, saved all of the other people from our world that were prisoners and we went back to Hatter's for the night." Hatter is pleasantly surprised when Alice doesn't continue to elaborate about their spending the night together.

"The next day, we went back to the Looking Glass, Jack was going to take over the kingdom and I was sent back here." Carol takes a deep breath and nods, her eyes a little glassy. Alice touches her face gently.

"Mom, I'm not making this up. I really did fall into Hatter's world and we really did have this four day long adventure. I can't explain the time difference, I don't think-" Hatter speaks up then.

"I can." Alice and Carol both look over at him, Alice looks shocked and Carol; suspicious. He swallows before explaining. "In the time after you left, I had to tie up the loose ends. I had to gather up my merchandise and hand over my business to Charlie, I had to clean myself up, because if you'll remember, I was a bit roughed up when last we spoke. Well after all that, I convinced Jack to send me through the mirror after you. He sent me over to his White Rabbit guys and they taught me a thing or two about your world, to help me fit in." Alice was looking a little frustrated so he reigned in his nervous impulse to babble. "Well, they also explained that they were sending me back to the time you went back to. So when they sent you back the first time, they sent you back to the time you left, or close to it. They sent me back to that same time, and that's how I found you." Alice nods her head in understanding.

"I wish they would have told me that, when I woke up this morning, I couldn't understand the time difference, I thought it was all a dream. I was afraid that you were a dream." Alice reaches over and takes Hatter's hand. As they stare into each other's eyes, Carol feels out of place. She stands, drawing both of their attention.

"That has to be the craziest thing I've ever heard Alice. If you didn't want to tell me-" Hatter looks at Alice, her face crumbling as her mother doesn't believe her when Hatter suddenly remembers.

"I can prove it!" Carol looks at him skeptically and Alice asks.

"How?" Hatter smiles brilliantly and explains.

"The mirror. All she has to do is touch the surface and when her hand goes through it, she'll know we're not lying!" Alice looks at her mother, who looks panicked.

"I'm not going through a magic mirror to Wonderland. I think you might need to get your head examined young man." Alice speaks up.

"He's not crazy, and neither am I. If you don't want to come and see the proof, then you have to accept that we're not lying on faith. It's your choice mom, but make it quick." She casts a flirty glance over at Hatter. "I promised Hatter we'd do pizza." Hatter smiles back at her, his heart rate jumping as he remembers. 'And lots of other things.' He stands up and grabs Alice's hand.

"Shall we, my dear?" Alice smiles happily at him and looks at her mom, who grabs her pocketbook before following them out into the hall. The elevator ride and the short walk over to the building is tense because Carol is clearly in no mood to do this and she is even less trusting of this Hatter fellow. When they arrive at the mirror, Hatter lets go of Alice and steps up, looking at Carol as he extends his hand to the mirror. She holds her breath as his hand passes through the seemingly liquid glass. She releases the breath when he's not sucked in and she steps forward to examine it. Hatter holds very still and lets her look her fill. He is shocked when she suddenly thrusts her own hand into the mirror. The feeling makes her eyes widen in shock and she pulls her hand back out. She looks at her hand, unchanged and she turns to smile at Alice just as someone comes through the Looking Glass, landing atop of Hatter with a grunt. Alice recognizes the man immediately and pulls her mother away from the two men. The man stands and helps Hatter stand as well.

"Are you alright Hatter? I didn't mean to fall-" He notices that Hatter is completely ignoring him in favor of looking at something behind him. He turns to look and comes face to face with his wife Carol, who promptly faints. Alice slows her mother's fall, but the dead weight drags her down to the ground, still cradling her mother's upper body as best she can.


	2. Chapter 2

**D.- Hello again Everyone! Let me start by thanking the six, yes six, lovely reviewers who inspired me to keep at this chapter. **

**Scubagurl22, my lovely, thank you for sticking to it with my sequel, I'm feeding off of your excitement to help me get father in the story. **

**Luvconnor is a new reviewer and I'm definitely pleased to hear from someone reading through Shimmers and coming straight to Ripples, your review leads me to hope my story flow is similar, which was a huge reason I took so long to post the first chapter anyway. I feel like I've succeeded and the smile on my face rival's the Cheshire cat. Kaiou8, thank you for your encouragement, it means a lot, especially in such amazing words. **

**Rue Mo, you are always so good to me, very critical of my work (In the nicest way to be sure) and I appreciate it so much, you are helping to make me a better writer and there's no greater gift in my eyes. Thank you so much!**

**CupofTeaforAliceandHatter, You my dear, have been with me from the very beginning, you're always very supportive of my plot twists and your harmony with my own sentiments really makes me feel like I'm getting the emotions I want to carry over. Thanks a ton! **

**Celticbriarrose, my most update crazy reviewer. You always want more and it makes me smile and makes me want to write more, faster. **

**I've noticed that, essentially, Scubagurl keeps my muse interested in Halice fiction with her exuberance, Celtic makes me want to write more and faster, Rue Mo reminds me to watch my technical skills and CupofTea confirms that I'm getting my points across exactly as I wanted to. You four have been a great blessing to me during the writing of Shimmers, and I'm beyond happy that you are all still reading. I owe the four of you equal parts of my muchness.**

**I also wanted to quick update that most if not all of the "life troubles" I was struggling through a few weeks ago have well and truly resolved themselves or are soon to be completely resolved. I anticipate being able to post often and produce some good story too! Thank you, and enjoy!**

Both Hatter and Robert rush forward to assist Alice and very quickly, Alice finds herself bundled into Hatter's waiting arms as Robert kneels by Carol, her head laying on his lap. Alice knows how much her mom has missed her dad, how she never dated another man, somehow knowing that Robert would be back. She would dress everyday with a strict rule that she always look her best. When Alice had begun looking for her father on , Carol was always trying not to watch over Alice's shoulder and trying even harder not to let Alice see her face crumble when the few pins in her map became many. Alice looks over at her fainted mother and her obviously adoring father and decides to get them moving to her mother's apartment.

"Dad, we should get mom out of this building. No doubt she's already ruined that dress, and she won't be happy to wake up in this dump." Robert nods absently and reaches one hand under Carol's shoulders and the other one under her knees. He stands with a great amount of effort and he almost tumbles back when the added weight of a fully grown woman rocks in his not-so-steady arms. Hatter helps Alice up quickly and steps away, but while the small act of turning away from her hurts her feelings, her heart exploded with love for him when Hatter then relieves Robert of his burden and shifts Carol into his own arms easily. Robert tries to protest.

"Really now Hatter, don't you think I would be better suited to carry my wife? She's not as light as she looks and-" Hatter just shifts Carol to a more manageable position.

"I saw you swaying a moment ago and I don't want to say you're old and incapable, but I'm young and better suited. Sorry mate." As Robert grimaces at the plain spoken truth, Alice bends down to grab Carol's pocketbook and then laces her arm through the crook of her father's arm as she leads them back out of the building.

Alice casts a wary glance around the area between the two buildings before they cross the space. No one is out at the moment, so she guides them to the apartment a little quickly to avoid getting caught. Even in New York, finding a second unconscious woman in as many days will draw a lot of questions. Alice pulls out her keys and her father looks around, confused as to why they aren't heading to the little yellow house. Alice just unlocks and holds open the door to their apartment. She explains a little as Robert enters the door.

"We needed to leave the little yellow house for Mom's new job here." He looks upset but she just ushers him inside and then steps around the two men to push the elevator button. Alice looks over at Hatter's strained face as he stands waiting for the elevator and smiles an encouraging smile. Hatter's lips curve faintly but the grimace of concentration stays prominent. When the elevator dings, they carefully help Hatter in, wary of Carol's head and legs, and then squish in with them. Alice calls for her father to hit the appropriate button and as the glossy silver doors closed, Alice can once again see Hatter. She spends the short elevator ride observing the way her father is positioned next to Hatter, watching her mom, waiting to catch her if Hatter fails.

When the elevator opens, Alice pulls out her keys again and opens the door, letting Carol's purse fall onto a nearby chair. She walks with purpose into Carol's room, always impeccably clean, and throws the throw pillows to the side and turns down the blanket. Hatter arrives just then and Alice helps him lower her mother to the bed and pulls the sheet over her. She grabs Hatter's hand with a smile of gratitude and then steps towards the door, making shooing movements with her free hand towards her father, who was standing in the doorway. Alice was young so she doesn't remember much of her mom and dad interacting together, but seeing him standing there, looking at her mom with so much emotion, she wants to cry. After the three exit the sleeping woman's room and Hatter pulls the door closed behind them, Robert stops and asks:

"Shouldn't someone stay with her? I may not look like much, but I am a doctor.." Alice smiles sympathetically.

"No Dad, I think that she's best left alone for now. She's not in any danger, she didn't get hurt. She just needs to process things." She gestures him into the living room and Hatter kisses her shoulder as he steps past her to go brew some tea. He can still just make out the conversation. "Dad, I think it might be best if you step out for a while, at least until mom wakes up and I have a chance to explain why you came out of a mirror, which she had just finished accepting is really a portal to a fantastical world."

Hatter smiles softly, rattling around in the cupboard, pulling out all the different loose leaf teas and then he turns his attention to sniffing different combinations of tea. Hatter always relies on his nose to tell him which tea is which, since labels can be wrong. He sniffs them all, and then mixes the Chamomile and White Tea into the teapot, figuring that this is the most soothing tea he can create.

When the water is boiled, he pours it slowly over the tea and lets it sit, stepping back into the room with Alice and Robert, catching the last of Alice's speech.

"- And she'll never let herself fall apart in front of you and Hatter. It's been just us for a while now; we need to give her some space to deal with the shock before you meet with her again." Hatter steps up behind Alice, letting his hands tighten on her shoulders, giving her a mini massage as he speaks.

"I could use some help fixing up my new place, yeah? It's only a few blocks over, and I just need to bin all of the Prince's gaudy crap. And then, when Alice and her mum are ready, we can let Carol decide what she wants to do next." Alice smiles and turns her head to look up at him, his hands loosening off her shoulders to rest on the back of the couch. She places one hand up onto the back of the couch, resting lightly on his hand.

"That's probably the best thing we can do for her." Hatter smiles and looks over to Robert, who looks like his heart is being ripped from his chest and thrown to the dogs.

"We don't have to clean up my place, we can stop in at the store on the corner and get some things and then just relax, and maybe you'd like to freshen up? In my opinion, the shower in my new place is top notch; everything is bound to look better after a nice shower." Robert's lost eyes snap to Hatter's as his words sink in. Robert looks down to his clothes and then nods softly. He looks back up at Alice.

"You'll let me know as soon as I can meet with your mother, won't you Alice? I've so many things I want to say…" Alice takes her hand from Hatter's and stands, prompting her father to do the same. She steps forward and leans in for a hug.

"I promise, as soon as she's awake, I'll call you." She turns to Hatter as Robert releases her. "What's the phone number there?" Hatter just looks at her blankly. Alice sighs and rolls her eyes, amused. "Wait here." She goes into her room, pulls out her cell phone and hands it to Hatter. "This is my cell phone, I'll call you when we're ready." Hatter tucks the little gadget into his pocket, opposite his 'wallet'. He reaches for Alice, pulling her into a loose hug, uncomfortable with more of a display in front of her father. She smiles into his chest as he wraps his arms around her. She can hear him mumbling into her hair so she pulls back, looking into his almost anxious eyes with a quizzical look. He flushes a little, looking over to Robert then back into her eyes.

"Take care of your mum, luv. I'll take care of your dad." Alice rises up and kisses him on the mouth, a thankfully quick kiss because Hatter is very uncomfortable with her dad watching. Alice watches them leave the apartment, promises to call soon and closes the door behind them.

Left with only herself for company, she steps into the kitchen and sees that Hatter has made tea, and has pulled down only two mugs. He must have known that she would insist on them leaving her and her mother alone. She smiles fondly as she thinks of her thoughtful Hatter. He didn't just say 'I'll keep your dad out of your hair' but he asked for help from her dad, trying to make him feel needed while she was taking care of her mother. She pours the tea and then adds the necessary sugar and milk before setting them on a tray and carrying them into the bedroom. She sets the tray next to her mother's bedside and then settles herself down next to her mom. She gently shakes her arm, as she would have if she'd been simply sleeping.

Carol wakes with a start, her heart racing and her mind a completely empty expanse of shock. What had happened? Where was she? She looks up into the pitying eyes of her grownup daughter and immediately checks her memory for any injuries. After her brain gets back to her with a clean bill of health, she looks at Alice confused.

"What's the matter Alice?" Alice's pity clears, and she smiles encouragingly.

"Nothing is wrong, mom, everything is right in the world now." Carol's eyebrow rises in disbelief and suspicion.

"Why am I in bed, in the middle of the day, and still wearing my shoes?" Alice grimaces as she realizes she forgot to see to that little detail, which would make her mother have to clean her sheets.

"Sorry. I forgot to take them off when we carried you in here." Carol shows no emotion for a moment. Slowly, her eyes widen as she registers Alice's words, shock and confusion fill her face.

"Carried me? What on earth did you have to carry me for?" Alice mentally kicks herself for starting this conversation off on such an alarming note. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she apologizes.

"Sorry mom, sorry. Okay, let me start this over from the beginning. Do you remember the talk Hatter and I had with you, about his home land?" Carol searches her memories, remembering their ludicrous statement that Hatter was from Wonderland. Alice, seeing the grudging memories in Carol's eyes continues gently. "Well Hatter and I brought you down to the mirror that we traveled through. You watched him put his hand through; you even put your hand into it, to prove it wasn't a trick. Do you remember?" Carol nods as the memory plays clearly in her head.

"The mirror was cold to the touch, not all over cold, like in the winter, just where my skin was touching it. My wrist was cold but my fingers were warm and the twin temperatures made me uncomfortable so I pulled my hand back out quickly. I remember, yes." Alice smiles and releases a deep breath. She notices that Carol is still processing. "Someone came through the mirror at that time, someone landed on your boyfriend, is he okay?" Alice smiles at her concern for Hatter, perhaps they could actually get along if they got past this.

"Hatter is just fine Mom, he carried you up here when you fainted." Carol looks taken aback for a moment.

"Fainted! Why would I have fain-" Carol's speech dies off and her eyes get impossibly wide. Her hands fly to her mouth and a dismayed exhalation escapes before she says his name. "Robert? Robert was there?" Alice takes her hands, setting their joined hands against her ribcage.

"Mom, this is probably the most shocking thing I've ever had to tell you, so try to bear with me. Remember that open mind from yesterday, well keep it wide, wide open." She takes a steadying breath. "Daddy didn't leave us mom. He was kidnapped by the same people who kidnapped Jack. They took him from us in order to use his science to invent a new form of drug for Wonderland." Carol looks appalled, so she hurries to explain.

"You know, deep in your heart that Daddy would never have agreed, not to the outrageous plan they had for him, or to leaving us alone but they have terrible, torturous ways of making you forget who you are, what you want in life, where you belong and how long you've been gone." Alice shutters a little before looking her mother in the eyes, reading the disbelief written plainly there. "They 'brainwashed' him into thinking we never existed. He thought he was a born and bred Wonderlander, a single bachelor who had no time for friends or family because he was solely dedicated to his science and his unflinching dedication to the Queen of Hearts and her evil plans." Carol looks like she is about to cry, so Alice leans away from her to grab her tea. Carol pulls herself up and Alice hands it to her, perfectly sweetened. Carol's lip quivers as she pulls the warm drink to her, but she sips gently anyway.

"Hatter made us up some tea when he figured we would want to be alone to talk. He took Dad over to his place until I have a chance to explain everything to you." Carol hums distractedly into her tea, feeling the sweet, fresh warmth running down her throat. She wants so badly to believe all this, but she can't quite wrap her head around it all at once. She decides to take her daughter on faith. The mirror was real enough, surely no one has the imagination to make all this up. She rests the tea cup in her lap as she looks at her daughter.

"Did you see him while you were in Wonderland?" Alice looks pained for a moment and Carol aches to take back her words, to take away her darling daughter's pain.

"Yes, When Jack brought me to meet the leader of the resistance, he admitted that he only courted me to get me to follow him back to Wonderland so that I could turn my father against the Queen." Carol's murmur of 'Oh Baby' as she set her tea cup on her bedside table only makes Alice smile fondly.

"I was already half-way in love with Hatter at that point and Jack's deception hurt but that pain died when Caterpillar brought dad out of hiding." Alice's smile fades, leaving a blank, emotionless face to tell the story. "I ran towards him, but he only asked Jack who I was. I tried to explain that I was his daughter, and I tried to remind him of our life together, the little yellow house, the day Dinah died, you…but he didn't know me." Alice's lip trembles and her traitorous eyes let slip some of the water pooling in their midst. Carol pats the bed gently and Alice climbs over her to cuddle into her mom's side as she cries. Carol murmurs to her gently as tears fall down her own cheeks silently, words that Alice hardly hears, finally releasing the last of her pain from that trip to wonderland. It isn't long before Carol manages to calm Alice, who insists on continuing. "Our time was cut short by the Queen's henchmen just after I gave him back his watch, the silver one you had engraved for his birthday the year he left." Carol smiles a little and Alice feels her face spread into a small smile too.

"He's wearing it now, actually. He hasn't taken it off since I put it on his wrist." Alice takes a deep breath and sits herself up, against the headboard, right next to her mother. She reaches her right hand across her body to take her mother's left hand as she continues. Carol lets her right hand rest on their joined hands in support. "When we were on our way back to the palace, Hatter tried again to save me, but only ended up getting caught himself. We were back at the Queen's palace, and she asked Dad if he would care if I were killed, and he asked her why he should." Alice's lip trembles again as she continued, Carol's hands squeeze around her hand as she speaks. "I've been pretty alone at times, and felt really let down by Daddy's disappearance, but that was the first time I lost hope. I remember wishing that they hadn't taken Hatter away, that I had someone holding me when I heard those terrible words." Carol's face softened to a look of compassion and regret. Alice didn't notice as she steadfastly continued her story, anxious to get to the end of it.

"When I escaped the looking glass and came back to the casino, I met up with Hatter as he saved me from some guards with guns. We fought off the guards until Daddy came in and called them off. I held him at gunpoint because I thought it was a trick." Alice's amused smile made Carol's eyebrow shoot up. "He told me about the day Dinah died, things I hadn't reminded him of and he proved to me that he remembered me. I rushed into his arms, so grateful to get him back when Hatter saved both of us from a man with a gun." Carol looked dumbfounded.

"I think, I think I might have misjudged that boy last night." Alice smiled.

"You'd be surprised to know everyone does mom." Alice said with a secret smile as she sipped her cooling tea, pushing her anger away. Carol looked like she wanted to say more, but kept her tongue and finished her tea, a feeling of calm spreading over her as she puts the pieces of Alice's revelations together. She'd not been abandoned by her supposedly loving husband. Her truthfully loving husband had been abducted and forced to live away from her for ten long years. Her daughter and her heroic rescuer had brought him back to her, safely. Carol sighed contentedly, to Alice's great pleasure.


	3. Chapter 3

**D.- Hello lovelies! Here's chapter three, posted today for some returning reviewers, Kittyinaz and AngelBaby214, as well as my newest reviewer Miss Cullen –I wish-. I'm working hard on writing out as many chapters ahead as I can, but I am still fine-tuning my second mature chapter in this sequel (Chapter 10). Wish me luck darlings, and read on!**

Hatter walks to the elevator with Robert. When he pushes the button, he looks over to see Robert staring at the door they had just left.

"You'll be back again in a few hours. Just long enough to get you a cuppa tea and a hot shower. You'll feel better and more relaxed, which will help with the reunion." Robert looks at him, skeptical.

"What if she's moved on? What if she's dating someone or doesn't want to give me another chance?" The elevator dings and they step in, Hatter pushing the ground floor button.

"I seriously doubt she's seeing someone. I didn't mean to pry, but I've sort of adopted the habit of noticing things in people's homes. You learn a lot about people when you pay attention to their living space." Hatter steps out as the door opens and continues his rambling, just assuming that Robert is following. He bows his head and tips his hat to a lady who holds the door open for them as he talks.

"Her bed has throw pillows on it. No man in his right mind would want to bother with throw pillows; they are just an extra, useless step, so no one is living with her. Also, she has a large collection of romantic fiction in her living room. Now, romantic fiction as a whole isn't just for single women, but single women who bring men home don't leave out a large collection of smutty stories, in case the men get the message that they are looking for love or too needy. When we were leaving, I noticed no men's shoes or coats in the closet. And finally, and coincidentally, most importantly, Alice would have said something or behaved more awkwardly when we entered the apartment." He pats the not so relieved Robert on the back before returning to his walk. "You know, another really obvious sign is that when Alice was admitted to the hospital the yesterday, she didn't call anyone to come sit with her. She just held my hand and took comfort that someone was here for Alice." Hatter doesn't notice that Robert stops walking until he hears Robert call out.

"Whoa! Wait a minute! What do you mean she was hospitalized? What happened!" Hatter cringes and turns, walking back towards Robert, meeting him halfway before explaining.

"When that science tech pushed her through the mirror, she landed hard and knocked herself out. I landed nearby when they sent me back and I found her, in the building with the mirror. I wasn't sure how to get her to help but thankfully, Carol was out and about, calling Alice's name. When we met up, we rushed her to the hospital and, after only a night in the hospital for observation, she came home perfectly healthy." Robert seems to release his soul with his sigh.

Hatter gestures with his head to the crosswalk a few feet ahead and Robert resumes the brisk pace they were walking to prior to the interruption. When they cross the street, Hatter pulls him into the little corner store that Timothy works in. He looks over and smiles at the lady running the counter, before walking the aisles. Robert interrupts him.

"What do you need to get Hatter?" He looks up from the box of Earl Grey tea he is reading.

"Jack didn't keep anything remotely edible in the house. I was hoping to pick up some tea or biscuits or something, for a snack until Alice and Carol call us back." Robert looks down at his watch, noticing that it is working again. Shame he hasn't set the time yet.

"Maybe you should just grab those teabags and some packaged cookies for now. They don't usually carry biscuits in a corner store like this." Hatter looks at him oddly when he says 'teabags' but tucks the tea under his arm as he walks around the aisle, landing in the cookie section. He picks up a box marked "Nice" with cookies underneath the name so he takes both of the items to the lady, who rings it up. He pulls out his wallet and gives her a bill with a ten on it, which should be enough since the total is 6.94. She hands him the bag and some coins before he and Robert continue on to his apartment.

Hatter explains his first time finding the apartment to Robert, who only nods with an amused look on his face in reply. Hatter frowns a little at his lack of conversation, but imagines he is just anxious to get back to Alice and Carol. He leads him up to the apartment, shows him into the bathroom and sets off to make tea. He can't find a proper tea pot, like Carols, and the tea is in a little white bag. Confused, he decides to leave the tea until later. He ducks into each of the cabinets and drawers until he finds garbage bags. He returns to the bedroom and begins loading the horrendous shoes into two bags, careful not to make them too heavy. He then loads suits into two more bags, deciding to keep a few plain white and a plain black button down shirts. He also keeps the two tie racks and two belt hangers from Jack's clothing.

Hatter then moves to the dresser, barely even looking as he grabs boxers and briefs and chucks them out immediately. Hatter knows better than to wear someone else's intimates. He decided to keep a few pairs of the black dress socks, but most are thrown out. He keeps all the pristine white t-shirts, and then opens the bottom drawer. Inside are two vests, laying flat against the drawer. One is dark grey and its cut very wide at the collarbone. The second is velveteen and a dark maroon, cut very high. He takes both out, laying the grey one on the bed as he slides his coat off. He tries on the maroon one first, feeling it snug against his chest. He must be stockier than Jack. He doesn't waste time changing them, he just slides the grey one on top. This one is looser, because of the cut, but both fit well and he decides to keep them. He wears them into the closet and hangs them near his porkpie. He steps back out as he hears the shower shut off. He leaves the room, suddenly feeling like he is intruding in Robert's personal space. He returned to the tea conundrum, starting the kettle again.

"How did I get the tea out of the bag and once I do, how do I keep it from getting into the water as it brews?" Hatter gets an idea and reaches into the drawers, looking for something that he can hold the bag with while he pours the hot water over it. He pulls out a fork, thinking to skewer the bags and leave them hanging over the opening as he pours. But when he tries to stab through the bag, it tears wide open, leaving dried tea leaves on the counter. Cursing, he quickly brushes them into his hand and throws them in the garbage with the ripped bag. He then digs in again to find something else. He comes up with a pair of small tongs.

"If I grip the bag over the carafe, I can hold it up while I pour the water." He stands a moment, running it through in his head before setting to the task. He rinses out the empty coffee carafe and pinches three teabags, holding them over the carafe. He begins pouring the water over the tea bags, when Robert comes in.

"What are you doing there Hatter?" Hatter, concentrating on pouring the water as slowly as he can over the tea responds with a rushed "Making Tea." Robert looks at him, confused.

"Why don't you just put a tea bag in your mug and let it steep that way?" Hatter stops pouring and looks over at him, now confused. Robert pulls out two mugs, sets a new teabag in each and motions for Hatter to pour the water over the bags directly. He does and when the mugs are full, he questions Robert.

"But how do you know how much tea you need? What if you want a second cup? What if you're having company?" Robert just moves to sit on the couch as he speaks.

"If it's not strong enough, add a second bag. You just fish them out with a spoon after anyway. If you want a second cup, do the process over again. There's less waste this way. Everyone can tailor their tea to how strong they like it." Hatter looks at the little floating bag in his rapidly darkening tea with suspicion, but decides to try it the way oysters make it.

"While it's steeping, I'm going to change. Make yourself comfortable." He laughs a little as he hears Robert mutter. "Yeah right, this couch is terrible." Hatter doesn't change out of his white shirt, but adds the brown vest and a brown belt. For the finishing touch, he adds his porkpie hat, leaving the black fedora in his closet with his other clothes. He would have to go out and get some clothes soon. He only has the one pair of pants. He combs his hair down again and then repositions his hat. He looks at his neck, knowing something is missing, but he's unsure what it could be. He definitely needs more accessories too. Skinny, plain ties and boring belts could only stretch his outfit so far. Maybe tomorrow Alice can figure out the dollars in the bank for him. Looking over to the window, he sees his important papers and the idea strikes him to ask Robert about the papers, since they have some time to waste anyway.

Taking the papers, he steps back out into the living room and notices that Robert is now sitting at the table, the cookies and tea with him. Hatter grabs his tea as well and sits down with him.

"Robert, I wonder if you would know what these papers are. Jack gave them to me and said that they would help me, that Alice would know what to do with them. I don't want to bother Alice too much, so-" Robert cuts him off by lifting a hand.

"I'll do my best to help you out. Let's see what the Prince tucked in here."

They find the deed to the penthouse suite; apparently Jack had purchased it outright some time ago. He also has quite a lot of money in the bank place. According to Robert, two hundred and thirty thousand dollars is ten times more than enough to redo this place and do some wardrobe shopping, among other things. Hatter sips from his tea, frowning at it when the tea bag touches his lip. Robert laughs and tells him to go fish out the bag and throw it in the garbage. Hatter does so and adds some milk and sugar to it, to mask the almost tasteless so called 'tea'. He returns and Robert shows him the death certificate for Jack Chase, and a copy of his will and testament, leaving all of his belongings to his only cousin, David Sparrow. Robert explains that if he shows up with his ID, birth certificate and the will, the attorney that signed this will would begin the process of transferring the assets over to his own account. The attorney who signed the will with Jack is in fact in New York. They would have to go see him first.

"So Alice can help me find this attorney and then he takes care of everything?" Robert looks around for a clock and sees that less than an hour has passed. Figuring that sitting in the apartment stewing wouldn't improve his nerves, he offers to go now. Hatter smiles widely, thanks him and, abandoning that terrible tea, he moves to the bedroom to grab his coat. They set off, the bundle of papers tucked under Hatter's arm, as he checks to make sure he had the phone, the wallet and his keys.

Hatter steps out of the taxi that Robert had called on the cell phone and pays the man, Robert telling the man to keep the change. Hatter just pulls the documents closer to his chest before stepping into the imposing building. Turns out he doesn't need to worry; the man they are here to see only has a small section of the building, twelve floors up.

They are greeted by the secretary who informs them that Mr. J. Abernathy is on the phone but will be available shortly if they'd care to wait. She sends him a message through the computer that he has people waiting on him. In minutes, the man steps out, aged but immaculately dressed. The man shakes both of their hands and leads them into his office.

"What is the manner of your business today, gentlemen?" Hatter smiles as he sits down, placing the document folder in his lap.

"My cousin recently died, Mr. Jack Chase, and I think you must have been his lawyer because his will has your signature. I have no idea what to do now, so I thought you might be able to tell me."

The lawyer turns in his chair to face the intercom on his desk.

"Ginette, could you please bring me the last will and testament of one Jack Chase?" The woman replied with a 'Right away sir.' and Hatter could imagine her turning to the impressive wall of files behind her.

"I'm indeed sad to hear of your loss and I offer my condolences. Mr. Chase wasn't a regular client, just a referral from a friend. I did up his will, at his request, but we had no further dealings. I trust his final arrangements have been made as per his request?" Hatter nods distractedly, trying to remember what they were when he and Robert had read the 'will'. The lawyer blanches, thinking he has made Hatter uncomfortable and when his secretary knocks, he is relieved to see her.

"Thank you Ginette. That will be all dear." He sets down the small folder and looks over the will through his thin wire frames.

"It seems that you are the only beneficiary in Mr. Chase's will. If you would like, I can simply read out the will now rather than having you come back in at a later date." Hatter ponders a minute, not entirely sure why the man has to read the will to him, but nods.

"I think it might be best, I plan to return home soon and another meeting would be difficult to schedule." The man nods to him, and looks over at Robert questioningly. Hatter is quick to explain "This is my girlfriend's father who's come with me, for support, since my lady is at work. If he can't stay in with me, I-" The elderly man waves him off.

"As long as you want him present, it's fine." Hatter nods and the man pulls out the will and begins reading.

"I, Jack Chase, being of sound mind and possessing the right to dispose of my property as I see fit, leave all my earthly possessions to my only surviving cousin, Mr. David Sparrow. I leave him my New York Penthouse, located at 1291 Kennedy Rd, the sum of my personal bank account, AC# 0285546 at the Bank of America, branch number: 04259. I also leave all my personal belongings inside the Penthouse including furniture, electronics and clothing. As for my remains, I have arranged for transportation of my cremated ashes to our hometown of Clare, to be entered at the family tomb. I wish David well and know my life was better for having known him. Goodbye and thank you."

Hatter is stunned by the last bit, but the attorney mistakes it for grief and leaves the room for a few minutes. Hatter looks over at Robert, whispering. "What happens now?"

"He'll draw up papers for you to sign so that you can get the apartment and the bank account signed over to your name, he'll send them to the appropriate places and you'll have to go over to the bank and they will tell you how to deal with the money. Jack must have won a lottery or something, because I can't see how he amassed that much money in so little time." The lawyer comes back in with some papers in his hands.

"Well then Mr. Sparrow, I have some generic forms for you to sign: transfer of ownership for the apartment, and similar documents for the bank account. Mr. Chase has already paid my fees for the reading and any legalities I might have to perform upon his passing, so if I get your signature now, you should have access to your bank as soon as tomorrow and I believe there is a set of his apartment keys in his safety deposit box." Hatter speaks as he leans over the desk, reaching for the pen the man is handing him and signing where he points.

"That won't be necessary; I was given his set of keys yesterday." Hatter finishes signing the documents, shakes the man's hand and wishes him well. He and Robert step out of the building.

"I don't suppose you know where I can pick up a nice set of jeans to wear to dinner? This is my first meal at Carol's and I'd like to make a good first impression." Robert looks around the area where they are and shrugs.

"Nothing around here, let's see what we can find." They hail a cab and set off.


	4. Chapter 4

**D.- *Gasp* I do live! Sorry for the extreme time it took me to update, poor Celtic must really be upset that you can't send more than one review per chapter. I'm sure she'd be right there daily encouraging me. I have been sick and tending to a sick husband…Not the best combination. Only a head cold and ear infection left, and lucky for me I'm going on mini vacation this weekend. :S I know I am going to post Saturday night, come hell or high water, cause all of my patient reviewers really deserve it. But then I won't be home (read: anywhere near a computer) until Tuesday late night. I also hit a Hatter inspiration drought. I did however find lots of new and inspiring Connor Temple. Lady love him, that Andrew Lee Potts is Adorkable! Enjoy all!**

Alice had sat with her mother for a few more minutes before stepping out into the kitchen, the tray of empty tea cups in her hands. Her mother had requested a lie down to absorb all this information and Alice lets her be for now. She busies herself with washing the few dishes she has, tidying up the tea boxes and emptying the leftover water from the kettle, before setting it back on the stove. Her cleaning complete, she looks around the apartment. She meanders over to her room, laying back against the pillows as she thinks about everything that has happened in the past week.

She sits, daydreaming and reminiscing of her time with Hatter, amazed that so much has happened to her in the past week that she feels she's known Hatter for months. She smiles at the thought of actually getting to know him, all about his past, his love of hats, his plans for the future, all while sharing what little of herself he doesn't already possess and teaching him about her world. She smiles as she remembers the first time he claimed he would follow her to her world.

He had looked so determined, unable to look at her, even though they were in open water and he could have spared a glance or two occasionally. Her smile fades as she remembers his words, remembers him telling her that he had no choice but to follow her. He'd gone to the trouble to explain that because his shop was gone and he was homeless, he needed to get out of Wonderland to lay low. Alice broods and tries to decide if that was indeed the reason he finally came to her world.

"He does already have someplace to live, even if it is Jack's old place." She muses to herself aloud. "He probably only had to explain his plans to Jack and he received the apartment as a reward for putting him on the throne." Alice frowns as she continues her study of Hatter's motives. "He might have come just to avoid the cleanup of his shop. It was torn apart when I saw it last, and the people were still only mildly annoyed that they had no more tea. I bet it got even worse with time, making his cleanup really bad, no wonder he wanted out so badly." Alice can't blame Hatter for leaving his world, and even if his motives are purely selfish, she now has Hatter without the fear of leaving her mom on this side of the mirror by herself. Although, her dad's presence would have eventually fixed that for her anyway.

She suddenly remembers that she had never even discussed her traveling back through the mirror with Jack! She might have made all these plans to go back for Hatter, to be with him, and the mirror would have been closed. She is indeed lucky that Hatter is running away from Wonderland, and that he thought selfishly in his haste to get to her world. She sighs wearily as she accepts the fact that Hatter isn't only here to be with her, but to start a life here. She supposes that she is just a welcome addition to his new oyster life. She hears the soft knock on the door and looks over at the clock, reading 4:57 pm. She sits up and calls for her mother to come in, locking her hurtful revelations away before she entered. Her mother entered, looking refreshed and ready to entertain, which makes Alice smirk a little.

"Well Alice, I feel much better. I was wondering if you were having your friend David over for dinner?" Alice's smirk dies when her mother doesn't mention her dad. Confused, she replies carefully.

"Uh, yeah, I could invite him over, if you'd like. He'd enjoy some real food for a change. But what about Dad?" Carol's warm, inviting smile never leaves her face.

"Of course Robert is welcome, I thought that after dinner, you and Hatter would want to escape the house for a bit and I could use some company." Alice tries not to show her wince of discomfort. Her mother has always looked the part of the quintessential woman, but she's been celibate since her father left- had been taken. To hear her say that she wants him to stay and 'keep her company' makes Alice green. Carol notices her discomfort and quickly figures out what Alice is thinking. Her shriek of horrified embarrassment confuses Alice again.

"Alice! I would never just invite someone over to do the things you're surely imagining. I just meant that we had a lot to talk about. Ten years is a long time to be celibate, but I won't be rushing into anything, even if I am still legally married to Robert." Alice smiles a little, still uncomfortable with this topic. Carol, flushed in embarrassment, flees the room, calling out that they are going to have to order in. Alice waits until the mortification fades from her face before she walks out to call her cell phone.

"What time would you like them here mom?" Carol sticks her head out of her bedroom, where she is changing her bed sheets.

"What do you think about 7 pm? I need a little time to run down to the laundry and put my sheets in, and I need to run down and get some good wine, and some sort of celebration dessert. That should give me plenty of time, if I leave right now." Alice agrees, happy that her mom is planning a special night. She hopes that her mom and dad can talk this out and rekindle some semblance of their relationship and that they will be happy together, like she'd been dreaming of ever since he was taken. Alice's mother grabs a basket, throws her dirty sheets in and grabs the bottle of fabric softener they keep hidden in an ottoman near the door, throwing it on top. She pauses only to grab her pocketbook and keys before she leaves the apartment. Alice smiles and picks up the phone, dialing her cell phone number and waiting for Hatter to answer.

"Alice?" Is the immediate reply when the call connects. Alice smiles fondly.

"Hello to you too Hatter. I was just calling to see if you and Dad would come to dinner, here at the apartment tonight? You don't have any unbreakable plans do you?" Alice listens with a sly smile as Hatter rushes to convince her.

"No-no, I mean no, we're not busy and we'd love to come to dinner. Did you need us to bring anything?" Alice, suddenly struck with an idea, asks Hatter to pass the phone to her dad. Hearing the phone shuffle and Hatter's dejected mumble of "s'for you", she wants to cuddle into him and kiss his surely pouting lips. Her dad's voice breaks her out of her reverie.

"Sorry dad, yeah I wanted to talk to you. Mom said we should order out and I thought you could bring us some fabulous take out. They have a little Italian eatery a few blocks over, called L'Assaggio. They make a pretty good Risotto Famiglia we can all share and they also make moms favorite: Veal parm. I'll have Tortellini Alfredo. You and Hatter can decide when you get there. Place the order around six and it should arrive shortly after 7. It's at the corner of 3rd and Churchill." She can hear her father repeating back what she told him and she hopes he is writing it down. Her good gesture will be ruined if he gets the wrong thing. "Oh and Dad? Don't worry about dessert, Mom nipped out to get something suitable and some nice wine." She hears Hatter ask for the phone again, so she quickly mumbles a 'bye' before the sound of the phone transferring is all she hears.

"Alice?"

"Yes Hatter?" She hears him take a deep breath and the sound of a door closing. She assumes that he stepped away from her dad. She waits patiently for him to continue.

"Are you still there Alice?"

"Yes Hatter, what's the matter?"

"Nothing is wrong, I just wanted a minute to talk to you about your dad. On the way here, he was pretty upset that he had to leave your mom. He was worried she'd found another man or moved on since he left and I tried my best to reassure him, but I can't be sure he believes me. I thought you should know how he felt." She smiles at the wall, imagining his face there. His concern for her parents is so touching.

"Thank you Hatter. Please tell him that my mom has been celibate since he was taken. She said she never felt right doing anything more than flirting with a guy. He should believe it from me, I was here." Hatter can hear her smile and words tumble from his mouth before he can stop them.

"I miss you Alice, I can hear you smiling and I wish I was there to see your beautiful smile for myself." Hatter immediately snaps his mouth shut in mortification. He meant to tell her that he missed her, and that he wanted to spend time with her soon. He didn't mean to just up and blurt out that she's beautiful. He dreads Alice's awkward goodbye but her voice floats through his thoughts, tearing his doubts to shreds.

"I miss you too Hatter, I was thinking about you after my mom fell asleep." He straightens with a proud smile and askes her hopefully.

"What are the chances that we can leave your parents to themselves after dinner and you can come see my future place? It's horribly decorated apartment but I'm going to work on it later." Alice nods to herself, since she can't see him. She feels like a teenager on the phone with her first crush.

"I'd say really, really good. As soon as dessert is done, we can take off. They need to talk anyway." Hatter gulps at the thought of Alice, all to himself, with an entire apartment to christen. He is glad he'd stepped away from her dad and locked himself into the bathroom.

"Sounds like a fucking good time Alice, I'll see you at 7, luv." Alice grows warm at the thought and replies simply.

"Can't wait." They each get out a goodbye before Alice turns to the bathroom, intent on really dressing herself up nice for their first dinner with her parents.


	5. Chapter 5

**D.- CupofTea, my first reviewer, I am so pleased you are still reading, you make me smile. Celtic, my review hound, I don't think I would have posted that last chapter if I didn't have all of your reviews weighing on my conscience. I absolutely adore you both. We don't quite make it to dinner in this chapter, but it is a deeper look into Alice's past…and her wardrobe. If you want to see her dress, from any internet browser, look up "Dessy twist dress". Of all the styles there, she's got it done up like the long dress, only it's short like the rest of them, and claret colored. The shoes are my own design and might sound a little weird, but there are no pictures of similar shoes to do them justice. Imagine any nude shoes you like, but the silver heel and ribbon wrapped around the ankles draw in your attention. ANYWAY, Sorry, I don't normally rant on in my notes. I guess it's cause I won't be updating for a few days. I'm sure that won't stop you Celtic, and I wouldn't want it to. Be good, will update as soon as I get back, I promise! **

Alice finishes her shower and dries herself off, wrapping up in a terrycloth robe. She then focuses on pulling her hair up into her mother's wet/dry curlers. She straightens and arranges her bangs in a side part. She doesn't need to put on any base makeup, since her complexion is naturally clear, but she doesn't know where to go from here. She has never really primped before, she didn't even own makeup! Sure, she has some basic concealer and foundation that she uses to cover her bruises from martial arts because it's easier to hide them than to constantly assure people that her mother or boyfriend doesn't beat her. But she doesn't have any pretty makeup and she wants to look polished.

She steps into her mom's room and reaches into her vanity, grabbing the small case of makeup and the four tubes of lipstick that are sitting near it. She carries them all into the bathroom, where she will have better lighting. She immediately puts aside all the blushes and bronzers, and pulls out the eye shadows. Her dress for tonight is a dark red color, identified by her friend as 'claret'. She certainly doesn't want red eye shadow to match, so she decides to try her hand at making that smoky look all the movie stars wear.

She takes the dark grey eye shadow and rubs the applicator brush across it. She then squeezes one eye closed tightly and trails the brush across her lid. The tiny puckers her eye made when it closed tightly left little skin colored spots across her makeup and the shape of the grey does nothing to make her eye look more attractive. She bends her face to splash water on it, and then reaches for some toilet paper to rub it off. She rubs hard to remove all the eye shadow as quickly as possible, leaving her eye a little red from the pressure.

It is quickly decided that she doesn't have a hand for eye makeup. She leaves it all on the counter and then pulls out the lipsticks. She opens them all, deciding that her dark red dress means dark red lips. She grabs her mother's darkest true red lipstick and holds it up in front of her face, closing one eye and trying to hold it in front of her face to see how it would look on her in her reflection. Judging it good enough, she purses her lips and rubs the color on. Smoothing her lips together and smacking them for good measure, she looks at herself in the mirror. The slightly pink eye and ruby red lips make her look like a cheap whore. Alice groans and rolls her eyes in frustration.

One very wet piece of toilet paper tries to rub off the red lipstick, but not much comes off. She continues to try to wipe off the remainder of the red stain from her lips to no avail. She is about to give up when her mother walks by, her heels clicking on the floor. Alice looks over as she walks past, torn between the shame of admitting that she knows nothing about makeup at her age and getting her immaculate mother's help to look like a bombshell. The decision is taken away when her mother calls out to her.

"Alice? Honey where are you?" Alice takes a deep breath before calling out in a strained voice.

"In the bathroom." Carol walks into the room and is struck dumb by the hopeful and embarrassed look on her daughters face. Carol only smiles fondly.

"I guess since we never did the makeup thing when you were a teenager, it only makes sense to do it now, since you finally have someone you want to dress up for." Alice is so relieved that her mom gets it; she lets a tear fall. Carol just smiles and takes the lipstick from her hand, wondering what possessed her pale, wallflower daughter to try such a bold color. "Exactly what are you wearing tonight dear?" Alice is watching her mother collect some small white pads and putting a little liquid on them.

"Remember the dark red dress Emily made us get for her wedding? I thought I could twist that up to make it really classy." Carol nods wisely.

"Good choice Alice, that dress really suits you." She looks over the makeup and sees the dark grey eye shadow. "What kind of look were you trying to do with something so dark dear?" Alice cringes before answering.

"I was trying to make the smoky eye that all the celebs wear. You know, it makes their eyes look all catlike." Carol smiles and closes the dark grey.

"Did you know you can make that same effect with lighter colors? With bright eyes like yours, we should try to stick to lighter browns and grey tones. Would you like me to teach you or just do your makeup this once?" Alice looks past her to the clock next to the mirror, it is 6:15 p.m.

"I think I'm too nervous to learn much tonight, so how about you just do it this time, and if I ever decide to do this again, I'll make sure I have lots of time to learn it properly." Carol nods in silent agreement, still ecstatic that her daughter finally needs her for something other than a roof over her head. Alice has always been so independent; Carol has always felt like more of a roommate than a mother. It's nice to be able to show her something feminine instead of getting her to the dojo for practice or picking her up from study hall after school.

Alice never dated much until just last year. David is only the fifth guy she's ever seen Alice with, and as far as she knew, Alice has brought home all but one of her boyfriends. Carol carefully applies the dark beige shadow from one side of her lid to the other, and then she takes a brown color with a weird squished brush and runs it along the crease of her eye, extending it a little past the tip. She then fills the outer corner with the medium grey. She quickly uses her naked finger to rub it all together a little and then turned to the other side to repeat the action. Alice likes the effect, but it doesn't look like the cat eyes she sees in magazines. When her mom finishes the second eye, she smiles an almost disappointed smile, trying vainly to make it genuine.

"Thanks mom, it looks great. I-" Carol reaches forward and grabs a little tiny bottle of dark brown liquid, shaking it up and opening it to reveal a small, pointy little brush.

"Liquid liner will finish the look Alice. You need to sit very still and not move your eye." Alice closes her eyes and feels her mom pull the eye lid taught from the skin at her temple. She feels the really cold brush touching her eyelid and sliding across the eyelash line. "Keep that eye closed for about a minute to let it dry." Alice mumbles 'mmhmm' to keep from nodding her head. Carol repeats the treatment on the other eye and asks Alice if she minds wearing a lighter lipstick.

"I only put that one on cause it's the closest to my dress color. Is that wrong?" Carol rolls her eyes and smiles in amusement.

"It's not wrong, just inappropriate since your dress is so dark and your skin is so light. If you were going to a club or something, it would work, but for a dinner with your parents, it's a little too vamp." She taps Alice on the shoulder. "You can open your eyes now." She has a thin black pencil in her hand and is handing it to Alice. "Eyeliner is hard to let someone else put on, because you think they're going to poke you in the eye." She takes out her favorite forest green eyeliner and demonstrates on herself how to apply it.

Alice mimics the movement under her mother's watchful stare. Her beaming approval makes Alice smile. She does the other side with confidence and then looks at herself in the mirror. Her eyes are fabulous. They've never looked so large and sexy! Alice smiles at her mom, who pulls out a mascara tube and shows her how to apply it as well. Alice doesn't get why her mouth is open and tries to keep hers closed, but in the end, she mimics her mother's pose perfectly, open mouth and all. Her mother only does one eye to show her and is now playing with the lipstick tubes, trying to match one to her by rubbing a small mark unto Alice's unused wrist. She has a half-dozen colors on her wrist when her mother takes two tubes aside and sweeps the rest into the box. She takes the first one, the lighter one and faces Alice.

"Go like this." She immediately opens her mouth and tightens her lips to make them smooth. Alice copies the movement and Carol grips her chin gently, brushing the lipstick over her lips. Once the coat finished, she tells her to blot on the Kleenex. Alice just looks at the Kleenex and then at her mom, confused. Carol reaches for a Kleenex, folds it and presses it between her lips, handing it to Alice to do the same. She does and sees all the lipstick come off.

"I guess we didn't like that color?" Alice comments uncertainly. Carol smiles indulgently as she explains.

"Blotting sets the color so it doesn't rub off when you eat or kiss. All we have left to do is line your lips in the other lipstick, put on a coat of shine and then let your hair down." Alice smiles and opens her mouth again, but Carol shakes her head. "Stay natural, this part is all me honey." She applies a quick line of a slightly darker shade and then pulls out some shiny gloss. She applies that as well and then brushes all of her makeup into her case, closing it and setting it aside. She is talking to Alice as she unrolls her hair.

"You know Alice, I'm so glad we got to do this. We didn't get to do a lot of girly things while you were growing up, since your interests were so sports oriented, but I think it's better that you're older now because if you had dug into my room as a teenager and borrowed my makeup, I might have been cross." She switches to the other side, releasing the curls and separating them with her fingers. Alice is amazed at how she looks. She turns and faces her mother, avoiding a big mushy scene and ruining her makeup.

"Thanks for this mom. I enjoyed it too." She gives her a quick hug, keeping her made up face away from her mom's dress. "Time I got myself dressed." She races off to her bedroom and Carol sits down on the toilet a moment and indulges herself with a few tears. After wiping her little cry away, Carol decides to redo her eye makeup. She quickly wipes her face clean with a makeup remover sponge and then starts with a light concealer base, finishing with matter powder. She slicks on some tarnished gold shadow, a bit of brown to shadow her crease and some black eyeliner to elongate her lashes. A quick coat of mascara and a coat of clear gloss has her confidence soaring. She isn't trying to upstage her daughter, but she isn't about to be left in the dust either.

She steps into her room, looking through her clothing to find something attractive, yet classy. She finds a lovely butter cream yellow dress with gold accents at the neckline. She finds it suitable and slips it on with some gold sling back heels and a gold bangle. She digs into her jewelry box and pulls out the fine gold watch that Robert had purchased for her. She slips it on and feels a rush of anticipation. To distract herself, she goes to Alice's room, to find her twisting her dress up to cover her shoulders and then crossing the straps behind her back to make an X. She ties and tucks the remaining length away and Carol whistles at her. Alice flushes a little and turns in a circle to let her mom see her, as well as getting a peak at what she looks like in the dressing table mirror. Carol remembers why she came in here.

"What did you order us for dinner honey?" Alice looks guilty for a moment and Carol assumes that to mean that they have no dinner coming. Carol's eyes widen and Alice tries to mumble 'It's okay, mom, it's okay!' but Carol is already turning to the kitchen. Alice reaches forward to grab her hand and explains quickly.

"Sorry for making you panic, I didn't order anything because dad did. He's bringing Italian." Carol sighs with relief.

"That nearly gave me palpitations. Italian sounds nice, I'm glad he thought of it."

Alice smiles warmly until she spies the clock. 6:50 glares at her in red lights from her alarm clock and she rushes to find suitable shoes, at least three inches, to be closer to Hatter's height. She finds the shoes she'd worn at the wedding, but they pinch and bother her feet so she throws them back into her closet. She pulls out a pair of strappy sandals, but they look cheap. Sighing and blowing some hair out of her face, her eyes lock onto her pair of peep toe heels, a translucent nude mesh stretched from the toe up to the back of the shoe, which is solid nude attached to a silver heel.

Slipping them on, she remembers that she'd bought these, completely in love with the whimsy of them, but has never worn them. She takes the two silver ribbons and winds them under her shoe's arch, then criss-crosses them around her ankle a few times, tying a bow to finish. She has just enough time to stand and admire them on her for the first time in her mirror when the door buzzer rings. She hears her mother's heels crossing the floor, and holds her breath, but when she hears her mother's shoes clip across the floor again followed by the rustle of plastic bags, she realizes their dinner has arrived. She steps out of her room and goes over to take the other bag when Hatter arrives behind the man, joking to her father.

"At least we've got good timing tonight, dinner has arrived in the nick of time, and I'm half starved from all that running around." He waits for the man to move, but when he looks into the room, all he can see is Alice. "By all that's holy, I have to be the luckiest man alive right now." The delivery man looks over at Alice appreciatively and 'mmhmms' in agreement. Hatter immediately wants the man gone, as far as he can go. He steps past the man, grabbing the food for Alice. "Right well, thank you for your time, have a nice night." Clearly dismissed, the man grumbles as he turns but Robert is holding up a ten dollar bill for his tip. The grumbling ceases and the man tips his delivery hat before heading for the elevator. Carol steps into the room after running her hands down her dress to adjust anything out of place. She locks eyes with Robert, still standing in the hallway, the door wide open in front of him.

"Please, come inside Robert, we don't want dinner to get cold." Robert smiles brightly at her and steps in, handing her a beautiful bouquet of white daisies, orange roses and yellow carnations. He smiles sheepishly as she accepts them.

"I wasn't sure but I thought I remembered you liked daisies." Carol smiles, foolishly pleased that he remembered such a little thing for so long. She can't reply without crying, so she just smiles and waves him in. He closes the door and takes a deep breath before turning around to join everyone in the kitchen.


	6. Chapter 6

**D.- Slightly short chapter, but the next few will just have to be longer to thank you all properly for your patience. I had a lovely trip but I'm glad to be home. I'd like to welcome two new reviewers; you all know how much I love to hear from new reviewers! Rileybear 14 and PerfectDisaster22 welcome and thank you for your reviews. I really need to thank you, Roxie, for your effusively complimentary review. I feel all giddy and happy whenever I read it. I am going to get straight to chapter 7 now and post it A.S.A.P. I am also encouraged that people don't expect Robert and Carol to just fall back in love instantly. I try my best to put myself in each of the characters shoes to make scenes play out as naturally as possible and your review made it clear that my efforts are working! I am just insanely pleased that these stories are being so well received by everyone. Here's chapter 6, sorry it's not quite the doozey you hoped for Celtic! Enjoy!**

Hatter is explaining to the ladies that the restaurant suggested they place the dishes directly in the oven on the lowest setting to keep the entrees warm while they share their risotto. Alice is taking out the dishes and setting them directly into the oven as he speaks, having ordered from this restaurant before. As her mother places the flowers in a vase and carried it to the table, Alice dishes out portions of the risotto onto waiting plates and passing them to Hatter, asks him to carry them in. She takes the last two plates and sets them down at the last two places before Hatter jumps up to push in her chair for her.

Suitably impressed by his charming nature, she smiles and lays one of her mother's cloth napkins in her lap. Hatter takes off his hat, setting it on a cabinet behind him and sits at the table, following Alice's movements, waiting for someone else to eat first so he isn't being rude. Carol comes back in with the bottle of wine and Hatter almost stands to help her, but Robert stops her first, his hand reaching for hers on the bottle.

"Please, Carol, allow me to poor the wine. I wouldn't want your food to get cold." Carol smiles gratefully and Robert sets down the wine for a moment to see her settled in first. As he picks up the bottle and drapes his linen napkin over his arm, he walks around the table, first pouring a small taste into Hatter's glass. He doesn't know much about wines, but he knows the custom used to be for a man to taste the alcohol first, in case it had spoiled. Hatter swirls it around, sniffs at it and takes a sip. He looks up at Robert with a fake look of self-important disdain.

"It shall most certainly do, if it must." Carol looks a little shocked, but Alice's loud, joyous laugh confirms for her that it is just a joke. Hatter lets the attitude fall away as he lifts his glass for more. "It's actually a very nice, dry white. I think it will go well with dinner." Alice is again impressed. She never would have guessed that her Hatter had knowledge of any drink other than tea. For him to be able to tell it is a 'very nice, dry white' is very intriguing. She vows to ask him about it, when they are all settled into dinner. Her mother looks over at her, catching her eye as her father fills her glass. Her smile is small, meant only for her to see, but the complete peace, the hope of such a small smile means everything to Alice. She feels for the first time in a long time, that everything is as it should be.

"When the Red King ruled, the White rabbit was busy pulling liquors and spirits through the mirror to keep the kingdom merry. My mother, bless her, was quite the wine enthusiast. She could smell a bouquet with her eyes closed and probably tell you the year and field it grew in. My dad couldn't be bothered with anything but his Tea Shoppe, so I learned both trades. I can proudly say I can blend a tea to cure what ails ya, and if it fails, I can recommend a good wine to ease the pain." Carol laughs aloud, her honest, appreciative laugh the perfect point to clean the tables of the entrée dishes.

As Alice had suspected, her mother had been surprised that her dad 'remembered' the Veal Parmesan and she had nearly burst into tears. Alice had also truly enjoyed her Tortellini and Hatter had ordered the same thing and seemed to enjoy it, since his plate was practically licked clean. Her father had a simple Spaghetti Bolognese, but seemed to hardly eat half. Alice correctly assumes he was too nervous to eat much. Since he has eaten all of his risotto, she doesn't comment as she lifts his plate onto hers. She moves to take her mother's plate, but Hatter is already lifting it onto his own and carrying it into the kitchen. She follows him in.

"Guests shouldn't clear the table in someone else house Hatter, why don't you go-" Hatter cuts off her tirade with a warm press of his lips to hers. The plates are cumbersome enough that he can't deepen it, but it silences her just as effectively.

"Nonsense Alice. I just didn't want you to stack the dishes and risk ruining that lovely dress." He sets the two plates into the sink and watches Alice scrape her father's food into the garbage. She places her plates on top of his, running a little water on them. He reaches around her waist to slide his hands along her hips, wrapping her in his embrace as she rinses dishes. "I feel an intense urge to show you off. To take you dancing or something where every man in the building will want to take you home and every woman in the building will stare in envy at the fabulous goddess you are. But then I think I'd much rather take you straight back to my place, with the express intent of taking you. Decisions, decisions, my lovely little Alice. What shall we do?" Alice lifts her arms, spinning inside the circle of his strong arms to face him.

She admires his body, clad in a bunched up white dress shirt, skinny black tie and a long grey vest. She risks a peak down to skinny dark wash jeans, bunching and tapering off over what looked to her like half-boots. She smiles into his eyes as she looks back up, sliding both of her hands into his back jean pockets.

"Why can't we do both?" He looks shocked and amazed that the idea isn't his own. He bites his lip hard when Alice pulls him tight against her, grinding just the slightest bit. His eyes drift closed and he takes a deep breath.

"That's not playing fair. I'll be sure and remember that later." He ducks his head down and kisses her on the mouth. Alice licks his lip as she pulls away with a mischievous twinkle in her eye

"Let's get dessert going and we'll duck out." Alice grabs plates and cutlery as Hatter pulls the big white bakery box out of the fridge. They step into the dining room, to find her parents leaning towards each other, whispering about memories and such. Alice decides then and there she'd been correct to only bring out two plates.

"Well we're going to head out. Hatter has asked me to take him out on the town." Hatter, quick to pick up on the mood himself, adds in.

"When you've got something this beautiful, you have to show it off, just a little. Sorry to duck out on dessert, I'm sure it will be lovely, but me thinks that dessert before dancing will be uncomfortable." He sets the box on the table before he turns to put his hat on his head. "You two kids enjoy yourselves; we'll get out of your hair." He bends and presses a kiss to Carol's cheek. "This has been a charming evening all around; you set a lovely table Carol." She smiles shyly at him as he takes Alice's hand and leads her around the table to Robert. He shakes his hand as Alice bends to whisper in her mother's ear. "A pleasure Robert, thank you for dinner. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon." Robert smiles and nods, waiting for them to leave so that he can resume talking to his lovely wife. Hatter turns to Alice, who straightens from her whisperings. "You ready luv?" Alice smiles widely and nods.

"We'll grab a jacket on our way out." She calls her goodbyes over her shoulder as they all but run through the living room and to the door. Alice grabs a small purse, throws in her keys and her wallet, before grabbing a random coat from the hook and ducking out the door to her mother's apartment, laughing in complete exhilaration. She never used to like doing things spontaneously, but Hatter makes everything more fun. She slips on the long, grey coat, Hatter pulling her bouncy hair gently from beneath the collar. He pulls it to the side, kisses her neck and then leads her into the newly opened elevator. She takes his hand and asks him.

"Are we really going dancing or would you rather take me at home?" Alice purrs out the second option, making Hatter swallow nervously before replying.

"I think a little dancing might be fun, but it won't be very long if you keep purring at me like that." Hatter pulls her close, his hands locking hers against her body as he presses her into the wall of the elevator, only having time to place a chaste kiss on her collarbone before the elevator dings. He turns with a weary sigh and they step into the night together. They walk up the street to hail a cab from First street and Alice tells the driver to take them to 'The Estate'. Hatter thinks the name sounds fancy and worries his lip about the kind of dancing they will get there, but when Alice smiles saucily at him, he realizes they could do the polka and Alice will still make him want to jump her in public.

He looks at Alice from the corner of his eye after she curls into his side, and he breathes in the delicate scent of her. He closes his eyes and thanks whatever thing he did to deserve her.


	7. Chapter 7

**D.- Here's the next chapter, it's considerably longer because you guys are awesome and inspiring and I've been watching A LOT of Primeval lately, 3 and a half seasons in 4 days :D Connor is wonderful! Weird that all that Connor watching has inspired me for more Carol/Robert. Nothing more than kissing, so it's still a T chapter. Getting to the dance chapter next, involves insane amounts of description but also has some youtube video inspiration for the less visually inclined. Welcome to my newest reviewer, BurningDecks. I have actually considered marriage, but it's the end result of a long and very tricky road, full of false starts and emotional waves. Remember the dress Hatter detailed in Wonderland? Why do you think Duchess' seamstress copied the design down? *Evil smiles* I think you might be a very important reviewer, you seem to pick up on my foreshadowing easily, and it's nice to know that it's being sent across properly. Much love to you all for reviewing, you know I need the push!**

The mood is quickly resumed after the kids left. They whisper to each other, though there is no one else to hear them now. Carol lays her hand on his arm, rubbing over the fabric of his simple dinner jacket. Carol leans across the table to pull the white bakery box towards her, preparing to cut them each a slice of the decadent tiramisu she'd bought at the local specialty food store. Robert puts his hand on hers before she opens the box, stopping her movement.

"Do you think we might hold off a while on the dessert Carol? I've been nervous all day and the energy has filled me up. I'm not sure I could truly enjoy the dessert if we eat it now. Perhaps we could sit on the couch and talk?" Carol accepts this idea readily, their earlier hushed conversation returning to her mind. They had talked as if he'd never left, as if she'd been with him these past ten years. Caught up in the moment of really being with Robert, in her home, she'd forgotten for a bit all the pain and misery she'd suffered while he was gone. Robert holds out his hand to her and escorts her to the living room so they can talk more comfortably. Carol slips off her heels and curls her stocking covered feet under her when she sits on the couch. Robert simply sits, not at the complete opposite end of the couch but not close enough to touch her either. His posture is rigid, his hands on his knees. Carol takes pity on him and reaches forward to take his hand.

"I know we have a lot to talk about, but perhaps, for tonight, we can leave those ten years behind us? We'll save the tears for tomorrow. Let me tell you about our Alice." Robert accepts that she doesn't want to ruin the nice evening and starts her off.

"She's obviously grown a lot..." Robert trails off and Carol joins in, avoiding the unpleasant topics.

"Yes, she graduated High school almost three years ago, with honors, and she's was enrolled in the dojo downtown since she was about 13. She loves martial arts, the discipline and freedom. Our Alice is a very independent young woman." She smiles warmly, motherly pride beaming out and engulfing Robert in warm, fuzzy feelings. "She is now teaching at the new dojo, owned by her sensei, but it's essentially being run by Alice. She's been taking business management courses at the local college so that she can take the business over when Mr. Chang retires." Robert's eyes widen, immediately impressed.

"She really does love the martial arts then. Has she competed much?" Carol smiles wickedly and stands, pulling him up by the hand she still holds. She leads him into Alice's room, where he notices that around the room, on shelves that are close to the ceiling, her many medals, trophies, newspaper stories are proudly displayed. Robert is in awe of his little girl. She's grown up to be the same determined young woman he'd always seen in her young little spirit. His eyes fall on a big map above her computer and his face wrinkles up in confusion. "What's this Carol? Places she wants to visit?" His eyes shoot over to her when she doesn't respond right away. Carol looks apologetic before answering.

"Those are all places that you weren't. Alice, ever since she was old enough to understand the internet, has been searching, through various sites to try to find you. The last place she looked was New Zealand." Carol points to the last pin Alice had placed and Robert wipes a single stray tear from his cheek.

"I'm so sorry Carol, I'll never be able to make it up." Carol hugs him to her, with a fake, bright smile to cheer him up.

"Now Robert, don't carry on so. We made it through, all of us, and we found our way together in the end. Let's not focus on the pain, let's focus on the good. I was promoted, shortly after that night." Her voice takes on a falsely optimistic note, soured by the mention of that night. Robert squeezes her hand and they leave their daughters bedroom, returning to their wine in the living room.

"I was made junior editor at the newspaper and it was lovely for a little while. My boss and I didn't see eye to eye on a great many things, so when I fired his latest tramp and wrote her fashion police column for her, he gave me my two weeks notice. I packed up mine and Alice's things, moved yours into storage and sold the house. We moved in with my mother for a month until I could find something suitable for Alice and I and we've been here ever since. We have some lovely neighbors, who looked out for Alice for me when I was on assignment. I'll have to introduce you at a reasonable hour." Carol takes a sip of her wine and then relaxes back on the couch. Robert has relaxed into the 'catching up' talk as well.

"We settled in nicely here just as a position for a senior editor opened. I didn't get that job, but the woman who moved up to senior had been a junior editor and they offered me her spot after my interview. I worked closely with Marilyn, learned a lot from her and I travel with her on occasion when big shows require more than one set of critiquing eyes. It's a fun job, more relaxed than what I was doing at the paper. I get to attend fashion shoots occasionally, I get to create magazine layouts and help Marilyn get the approved copy out. I have a lovely young intern working for me, named Anna. I try to bring her along on all my tasks, so she can learn 'The Biz'" Carol makes air quotes and a dramatic face when she mentions the biz. Robert laughs a little and drinks the last little sniff of his wine. He looks over at the bottle, and then sets the empty glass down without refilling it.

"I always knew that paper wasn't the right fit for you, but I also knew you took it to continue your passion while I tinkered away in my labs. You were always sacrificing for Alice and I, it's incredible the things you've done for me." Carol's pained face makes him stop and rethink his conversation topic. "You say my stuff is in storage? Do you mean things like my mother's antiques and the trunk my father carved for her wedding anniversary?" Carol nods, grateful for the change of topic.

"I couldn't bear to see them sold, so I had them stored in an old office building, where I wouldn't have to worry about changing seasons and water damage. The landlord has been after me to relocate your things soon so that he might clear out the office and make more money, but I have him in an iron clad, indefinite term lease of the space. It doesn't need to be dealt with immediately." Robert smiles fondly.

"Thank you so much. I'd completely forgotten about so much in my life, it will be nice to find a little of my past with these things. I can't seem to remember anything about this life other than you and Alice, and our little yellow house." Carol feels relief that he remembers her. She is filled with this insane, screaming feeling that she is as special to him as he was to her. She focuses herself to quiet the feeling when Robert yawns. She immediately recalls Alice's whispered words in parting.

"I'm staying with Hatter tonight, he can have my room." Carol stands up gently.

"I should get that dessert into the fridge again, we can eat it tomorrow." She carries the box off into the kitchen to do just that. She speaks to him as she returns to put the unused dessert dishes away. "I think I'm going to get changed and settled in for the night, maybe watch an old movie, if you'd care to watch it with me? Alice is staying out tonight, and offered her bed to you." Robert smiles gratefully, hiding the shaft of disappointment that he won't get to hold Carol while she slept. She reappears in the room to hear his reply.

"That sounds perfect Carol, are you sure you're ok with it?" Carol's heart softens a little towards him.

"Yes Robert, I think it's perfect too. I'm just going to change. I have some pajamas that should fit you, if you'd like. It's not really more than a few of an old t-shirts and a pair of flannel pajama pants." Robert smiles gratefully.

"Thank you Carol. Certainly more comfortable than a dress coat and jeans." She smiles tightly, regretting having mentioned the old t-shirts. The only old T-shirts she has were his, that she'd kept around because she needed to fool herself into thinking he was just away on business or something. Some days, opening a drawer of his things made her feel just a little hope, hope enough to convince her daughter to trust too. She pulls out his old high-school mathletes shirt and a pair of plaid pajama pants that are a little big for her. She takes the folded items over to Robert, who is now filling the sink with water and washing the few dinner dishes they'd used.

"Oh, Robert. We have a dishwasher for dishes dear." He looks over at her, holding the clothing tight to her chest. He recognizes the mathletes shirt right away. He had three of them and Carol was always wearing them around the house when they were first married. He smiles fondly at the memory and dries his hands on a dish towel.

"I remember this shirt. I had a few of them and you wore them when we painted our little yellow house and you wore them from the moment you started to show your pregnancy. That little green stain there, that's from when you tried to brush your hair behind your shoulder and rubbed the paint both all over the shirt and into your hair." She tears up a little.

"I couldn't bare to let them go. This is the last one left, the others are worn out." Robert reaches forward and gently takes the bundle from her.

"Thank you Carol, for keeping me with you all this time. I love you." Carol releases the clothes and curls herself into his chest, crying into his shirt. He wraps his arms around her, holding her crying form, rubbing her back, whispering words of comfort. "Shh, I'm here now Carol. No need to cry anymore. I didn't mean to upset you dear." She cries for a few minutes and when her tears let up and she looks into his eyes, her messed up makeup and bright red cheeks just make her eyes more vibrant. He leans down to kiss her lips, chaste and careful. She presses into him gently before pulling back.

"I'm actually quite tired, I'm going to skip the movie and see you in the morning." Robert nods and picks up the clothes, setting them on the counter, away from his dishes. He finishes them all, making sure they are all set out to dry on the rack before turning to take his change of clothes into his daughters room. He sees a light on under a doorway and assumes his wife is still upset. He wants more than anything to go comfort her, but he isn't going to pry and push, at the risk of ruining the small spark of something they have left. He pulls off his jacket, laying it over the back of Alice chair. His shirt and pants follow, leaving him in briefs and socks. He pulls the pants on first and as he pulls the shirt down over his head, he hears the rustle of fabric at the door. He turns and sees Carol standing there, in her long nightgown, infinitely sexy to him because there isn't any skin showing and even though it isn't particularly form-fitting, he can't remember what her body looks like underneath, so the mystery is appealing. He is shaken from his thoughts when Carol speaks.

"I'm not ready for anything physical yet Robert, but I can't get to sleep knowing for the first time in ten years, you actually are nearby. Would you mind terribly sleeping next to me tonight?" Robert sighs in relief.

"I'd love nothing more, beautiful Carol." He leaves his clothes in the room and takes her hand, letting her lead him to the bedroom, where they curl up together, and Carol weeps herself to sleep. Robert promises himself that he will never do anything that will take him away again as his eyes close some time later.


	8. Chapter 8 T

Hatter and Alice step out of the cab, Hatter passing the man a 20 and telling him to keep the change, in the same manner Robert had done earlier. The club is in fact a lovely old building, all cracked marble and columns, with wide steps and a red velvet rope draped up to the door. Hatter takes Alice's hand and leads her up to the line. It's short, thankfully so Alice and Hatter don't wait long before getting up to the bouncer. Alice smiles and takes Hatter's hand as the bouncer lets them past the velvet rope. Inside, they check Alice's coat and purse, after Alice hands Hatter her cash and ID. They follow the rhythm of the Latin music through the double doors to a large ornate ballroom. It is beautifully paneled, with mirrors in all the recesses and people are dancing, tight together and everyone looks like a professional dancer. She assumes they are doing a salsa or a cha cha or something that looks very complicated. Her mood falls quickly when Hatter pulls her towards the floor. Panic fills her face and she pulls him to a stop.

"Hatter, I can't dance like that! I've never even been to this place, it just seemed a little classier than The Dungeon or Junction. I would look like an idiot out there and I think maybe we should just go." Hatter takes her hand, pulls her tight to him and spins them around with some fancy footwork.

"C'mon now, we're out to have fun. How much fun can you have when we're doing the same old things you always do? We'll sit a few songs out and watch these guys dance; it's like a lesson in itself. Come on." He pulls her over to the balcony and they watch them dance a few songs, Hatter wraps around her from behind. He takes to pointing out couples as they dance, mentioning their footwork or their hips and even one guy's hat. Alice laughs at his jokes and comments, feeling more relaxed and ready. As the next song starts, she tries to lead Hatter into the fray of dancers, but he stops her with his hands on her hips.

"Where do you think you're off to?" Alice looks over her shoulder at him with a grin.

"I think I've got it, let's go dance!" Hatter doesn't move or release Alice's hips, so she huffs and stops trying to get away, crossing her arms over her chest as she turns. Hatter wraps his arms around her crossed arms, keeping her from moving.

"I think that before I share your dancing with the other people here, I should get a little preview." Alice's eyes darken and Hatter trails his hands from her shoulders down her back to her ass as he pulls her tight against him. "Show me what you've learned lil' girl." Alice bristles a little and her eyes cool as she turns away. Hatter's hands fall away in his shock and he steps towards her quickly but Alice is prepared. She steps around him in a square step, dancing around his body towards a soft half couch. When he sashays towards her, dancing overtly with a giant grin on his face, she is reminded of a character from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

She giggles as he reaches her and wraps his hands around her waist, crossing wrists at her lower back and pulling her to him once more. She drapes her arms on his shoulders and leans back, swaying and bobbing her head with the salsa rhythm. Hatter closes his eyes and dances in place with Alice for the rest of the song, just feeling completely happy and safe with his lovely oyster, who outshines every woman in the place with her fantastic looks and confidence. The song ends and Alice pulls away from him a little when a more upbeat song starts. He steps back to give her some space and to see what she will do next when she slides both her hands off of his shoulders to his chest and pushed him lightly onto the settee. He looks up at her as she begins to move, her hips grinding, hands alternately gripping her dress and swishing it around and just sliding along her thighs and hips, molding the material to her so that nothing is left to the imagination.

Hatter is incapable of thought or movement, just watching her move, her eyes closed, bottom lip between her teeth and her head lolling with the beat as it slows down. The entire song is like a very classy lap dance, minus the touching and stripping. It has both Alice and Hatter's blood roaring in their ears so when Alice grabs his hand for the next song, he has to quickly readjust himself before allowing her to pull him onto the dance floor.

The opening riffs are a woman humming along and singing to what sounds like an accordion. Alice recognizes the tune as "Stereo Love" and feels her confidence soar. The beat doesn't kick in until they had reach the dance floor and Hatter takes her hand in his as she wraps her arm around his waist. They are tight against each other and Alice begins winding herself against him, up and down like a snake. When the back beat starts, Hatter begins to move, stepping back and around in a simple step that has his eyes dark and his posture straight and tall.

Alice can feel him leading her around in every cell of her body. The back beat is building, getting louder until it seems to double in strength and now a lady is singing. Hatter begins spinning her out and back in, pulling her flush against him, dipping her back and then stepping around her while clapping his hands to the beat. He doesn't get the beat right, but no one cares. He laughs as he comes back to her, pulling her to him and repositioning his hands.

They begin to rotate around the room together since all the couples have begun the same movement. Hatter and Alice follow along with simpler steps and wider smiles as the whole room seems to be spinning with them. They step out of the whirlwind when the soft accordion music dies away, leaving the woman singing alone. They step into the centre and Alice pulls away from him, reverting to the club dance she usually calls upon in social situations, Hatter trying to keep up, miserable at it, but his infectious grin and unwavering confidence make him look like a professional.

Hatter molds himself to her back, seeming to shield her as well as meld into her when the music changes back to the accordion. They spin and twist until they are back in their coupled dancing position and jump back into the whirlwind as it picks back up. Hatter pulls them out of the dance when they near the stairs to the balcony and he kisses Alice hard on the mouth, out of breath and feeling energized and worn out all at once. The song ends within moments and Hatter leads Alice to the bar.

"How about a drink luv?" Alice nods her head, clutching her throat when another couple approaches them, congratulating them on the dance. Alice blushes and steps into Hatter, who extends his hand to the lady, introduces himself and Alice before turning back to get the bottled water he'd requested from the bartender. Alice smiles politely as the people move on and they venture over to a low table with a comfy settee to sit on.

Hatter reclines back and Alice settles herself between his legs, not leaning into him though, since she feels so hot. She gulps down a third of the bottle before handing it to Hatter. He empties most of it before offering her the last gulp. Alice declines and watches the dancers. They are doing some sort of waltz-like slower paced dance, it's beautiful. The song ends as Alice lies back against Hatter, letting her pulse slow. She watches the dancers spin around in circles again as the new, more upbeat song rings out over the speakers.

Hatter is trailing his fingertips up and down her inner elbow joint absentmindedly and the gesture is strangely sensual in this place, with the music pounding in her ears and her blood. She rests her hand on his thigh, just rubbing small, tiny little circles on his clothed leg as she watches the dancers move. After the song, a brief tone sounds a few times, like you heard when a movie starts with an old fashioned count down. The men and women split apart, and the women move back to give them lots of room as the strum of a guitar plays a declining chord. A staccato beat sounds and the men start to move, three of them moving in tandem.

Hatter and Alice both crane their necks to watch the three men and their simple, move by move dance: Two running man steps facing Alice and Hatter, a turn to the left, twice. A double snap of the fingers, once on the left thigh, once on the right, arms fold up behind the head and then a thinking man pose, leaning on their right thigh. Their arms wrapped around their midsection, one in front, one behind their back as they pull themselves up to stand tall and then jump and spread their legs wide. A cheering, one handed gesture when they straighten again, slap their foot when they raise a leg up, throw the leg back, tapping the heel with each hand and then pump the leg as they turn to the left some more. They do a spinning jump and then a back flip and start all over.

Hatter is vibrating with energy so Alice stands up. He takes her hand and leads her down. He kisses her cheek before jumping in on the third round, only fumbling a few steps. He is not the only one who joins and he's off to the left, a row behind the first three guys. The music is picking up and the background has an almost screeching noise building to a crescendo. Alice is enthralled by Hatter so when the music pauses and the men hold a pose, she laughs when Hatter fumbles and then steps back into the hold pose, his gaze shooting to her with a grin. This time the women pick up a dance and take over what's left of the dance floor. Alice watches them move around, first stepping twice forward, twice back, lifting an arm on the last back step. They repeat the movement again and then shimmy to the floor quickly when the lady calls "Hey nah neh nah" The women chorus behind her, all leaning towards her as they come back up. This time they lift both arms straight out and shimmy their shoulders forward as they step forward and back, twice. The "Hey nah neh nah" remains the same. They restart the pattern again from the simple two step.

The women break apart to dance merrily to themselves when the singer stops singing and Alice steps into the fray, dancing like the others, quick spins and arms raised in joyous abandon. She only half notices that the men have started back up their routine as well. Until the woman starts singing again, the women take turns doing their best moves, spins and kicks and hip gyrating while the men continue their acrobatic moves, trying to impress the ladies. There are just less than a dozen men on the floor and occasionally some would collide on the flip, but they get back up, smiling and continue their dance just the same.

The song slows down and the men break rank and spread themselves out, pulling their ladies to different corners of the room. Hatter approaches Alice and pulls her off to a corner, unsure what is going on. The original three men are all dancing around one woman. They keep the same dance, just decide to change the last bit. Instead of spin jumping and then doing a back flip, they spin a quarter turn around her and then present themselves with wide arms as she dances and wiggles between them. Hatter takes his cue and catches up on the second go through.

The woman starts singing again but Alice just continues to dance and writhe for Hatter as the song picks back up and continues to rise. When it breaks, its fast paced and everyone around them is just writhing and leaning on one another, regardless of who they are supposed to be dancing to. Alice and Hatter let it out, just swinging together and rubbing against one another, even as a woman spin and rubs herself against Alice's leg and another rubbed her back against Hatter, lowering herself to the ground. Its primal and fitting for the song's last part.

They lose themselves in the remaining moments of the song and when it ends, everyone steps back and claps for the DJ, who puts on a song Alice recognizes immediately. She pulls Hatter to the centre of the floor, singing along with the music immediately, gyrating her hips, swishing her dress as she pulls his hand down to hold her hip. She drapes one arm over his neck, and the other is raised in the air, counting with the song.

"Uno, Dos, Tre, Quattro. I know you want me, you know I want cha. I know you want me, you know I want cha." When the music picks up and the singer is counting again, Hatter steps forward with his left foot between Alice's legs, moves his right leg up to be parallel, then pulls Alice around him, pivoting on his right foot and then dips her back slowly, pulling her back up almost violently on the last count. Alice begins stepping back and forward, pulling Hatter's hands wide, keeping their bodies from touching in a most frustrating way.

Hatter wants so bad to touch her, he thinks he might explode then and there. Alice spins around him, batting his hands away as the singer goes into another language, quick speaking. At the count, Hatter steps up to her again, spinning her around in the same steps before he pulls her closer, pulling her hips into his, the delicious friction making him moan aloud. When Alice pulls away again, Hatter growls in frustration, grabs her hand and leads her to the mirrored wall. He presses her against it, so she can't escape his wandering hands. She is moaning his name and when she opens her eyes, its to see a few groups watching them. She whispers to Hatter that they need to get her coat and quick, so he grins, grabs her hand and makes a mad dash for the coat check. After only an hour in the club, the coat check lady looks at them crookedly before watching them run off, Alice's hand straying to Hatter's firm butt as the doors close behind them.

**(A.N. See the video for Milk & Sugar Vs. Vaya Con Dios- Hey (Nah Neh Nah) on YouTube if you feel so inclined to search it out. Beware song is catchy. Songs used in the chapter are: Stereo Love by Edward Maya and Mia Martina, Hey (Nah Neh Nah) by Milk & Sugar VS. Vaya Con Dios and Calle Ocho by Pitbull. **


	9. Chapter 9 M

The cab ride back to Hatter's place was filled with wandering eyes and covert, sneaky touches. When they drive past Alice's street, she looks up and out the window, surprised. When she turns back, Hatter sneaks one hand behind her head into her hair to pull her to him for a long, steamy kiss. Alice takes his other hand and puts it on her waist as she leans into him. Moments later, the cabbie calls out that they've arrived. Alice flushes in embarrassment as Hatter reaches for his wallet. Alice opens the door and goes to step out, but Hatter grabs her arm.

"Wait." Hatter's eyes are dark and unreadable so she waits, thinking perhaps he isn't sure he has enough cash. She moves to open her purse but Hatter is already paying the man the correct amount. Confused, Alice looks over to Hatter for confirmation before stepping out of the car. He is trying to put his wallet away while sitting in the cab when a flash of silver from Alice's extremely high heels catches his attention. He stops moving for a half second, just staring with obvious heat. Alice ducks her head down, curls dancing over her shoulder and her eyes are glowing with confused mirth and traces of impatient lust. Hatter stops fooling with his wallet, thrusts himself out of the car towards her and then slides his wallet into his pocket in one smooth move. He closes the door to the cab and takes Alice's hand, gently pulling her to the building.

The keys are trembling in Hatter's hand as Alice, feeling high on the feeling of female magnetism, is leaning against the glass wall next to him, humming a song and trailing a finger along Hatter's neck and shoulder under his jacket. When he can't concentrate enough to get the key in, Alice giggles.

"Having trouble fitting your key in luv?" Her last word is slow and exaggerated, the sound of her mirth turning to teasing mockery. Hatter growls and turns his body to her, dropping his keys to place both of his hands on her. One hand follows the line of her dress from her upper thigh to just above the back of her knee while the other pulls her head close, cradling her cheek to hold her to him. Her arm wraps around him as he slants his lips over her smiling ones. When she pushes her tongue through their locked lips to press against his, he pushes her back into her own mouth, dominating her with his tongue, his hands tightening in her curly hair, pulling her back gently to press rapid, hard kisses against her lips, never in quite the same place.

He kisses her senseless, nipping at her bottom lip and pulling away. He pulls her arms from his back to rest at her sides but one hand springs up to her full, almost bruised lips, touching lightly. Hatter smiles and waves his hand in front of her face but her eyes stay closed as she sighs. Hatter picks up his key and in one fluid motion, unlocks and holds open the door for her, pulling her through the opening as her eyes flutter open to see his smirk. He leads her by the hand to the elevators, pushing the button, which opens the door of the elevator immediately. He steps in and sticks the 'PH' key in the lock, pressing the button with his knuckle. He catches the reflection of movement behind him in the shiny door and turns just in time to catch Alice's hands as they are reaching for where his bum had been. He tsks and pulls her hands up, pressing her against the wall of the elevator. Alice's pulse spikes and her eyes close as she anticipates being thoroughly kissed again, but Hatter makes no move to touch her. She opens her eyes to look at him curiously, but the ping of the elevator saves him. He reaches up and pulls his key free as he releases her and precedes her out of the elevator.

"I wish I could take you somewhere nicer, this place is one big eye sore." Alice smiles but she can almost feel Hatter's upset. She thinks he might be shy or ashamed that he needs to settle on someone else's mercy instead of making his own way. She stops him from reaching for the door by grabbing his wrist. He turns back to her, his eyes confirming her earlier suspicion. Alice doesn't know what she can do to help so she grips his vest with both hands, pulling him to her. Hatter kisses her with as much energy as he can, but the shame of the apartment behind him is sapping his will quickly.

Alice releases his lips and lowers her head to his chest. The tie rubbing against her cheek brings an idea to her mind. Alice battles internally for a second. 'Can I really give up so much control?' She smiles against his chest, remembering their first time together. She had been restrained the entire time and Hatter had been nothing but giving. She'd never felt a moments discomfort so with that thought in mind, she lifts her head, gives him her sultriest smile and tugs at his tie. Hatter raises an eyebrow in confusion, looking around the lobby.

"I have the feeling that you don't want to insult my 'delicate' sensibilities with Jack's eyesore of an apartment." Hatter grins sheepishly as she pulls the tie free. She loosens it out of the knot until the tie lays limp across her outstretched hands. Hatter is suddenly getting very warm, Alice's intent to be blindfolded becoming obvious to his lust addled brain. Alice lifts the tie, fat end first to cover her eyes and Hatter steps behind her, quickly taking over the task. He wraps the tie around her head, kissing her neck chastely, then her ear. His hands wrap the tie around a second time, and this time, Hatter presses kisses to her shoulder and as he steps around to stand in front of her, he presses a kiss to her lips, his hands tying off the tie. Alice reaches up from wringing her hands and Hatter grabs both, placing kisses on her hands, then her palms, then her wrists as he pulls her to the door.

Alice hears the rattle of keys and the sound of the door opening. She feels Hatter take her hand and she waits for him to pull her forward but instead, he places something in her hands.

"Hold that for me will ya luv?" Alice grips the item in both hands and figures it to be his hat. She is about to ask him why when she feels his shoulder at her stomach and he lifts her, slapping her bum lightly. She holds his hat in one hand, the other sliding to his back, his butt, finally resting on his hip to help support her. She nervously laughs as he kicks the door closed but then she knows they are on their way to the bedroom, where Hatter will take charge and rock her world. It is only a dozen steps later that Alice feels herself being lowered to her feet. She feels Hatter's heat walk away from her for a moment and hears a door close. She hears Hatter's steps and then feels his hands, running from her lower back around her waist to the front. He runs them back before speaking.

"Where is the zipper in this lovely dress Alice?" Alice smiles wickedly as she replies.

"There is no zipper, I'm wrapped in here by the straps." Her hand raises up to her left hip, where she pulls the first strap free and before she can reach around to the right, he grabs both of her hands, pulling his hat away and tossing it over to the chairs near the window without looking. He lets her hands fall to her sides and he trails his hands up her arms, over the cloth covered shoulders and down her back, one hand sliding over the loose strap as the other moves to her right hip, pulling the other strap loose as well. Both straps slide over Alice's too sensitive skin to join into one strap along her back, crossed mid-back and dangling down. Hatter takes one finger, trails it down the back of Alice's neck as the other hand wraps around her stomach. His finger slides along the inside of her shoulder blade, following the material to the cross. He slides that same lucky finger down her spine, loosening the straps and separating them, so that the straps hang from her shoulders. Hatter slides his other hand up her chest to sit on the shoulder for the opposite arm, pulling her tight against him and holding the dress from falling off the front until he lets it. He fingers the strap to his left, using the soft jersey material to tease Alice.

She can't believe how erotic Hatter undressing her can be. She is breathing shallowly, trying to hear his movements. She feels the heat of his breath on her neck a moment before Hatter flicks the strap off of her one shoulder, placing kisses along the newly uncovered skin. Alice moans at the feeling, her head lolling back in pleasure. Hatter steps back a step, letting his hand trail down to her stomach and then her hip before spinning her quickly to face him. He looks down at his Alice, her face flushed, lips swollen from her biting them and her dress falling off the side to his right.

He can hardly believe that he is allowed to touch her. He pulls his vest off and is quickly unbuttoning his dress shirt buttons, leaving the shirt lying open on his chest. When he doesn't immediately do anything, Alice gets worried. Her dress is hanging off the one side, no bra underneath. What is Hatter waiting for? She no sooner finishes the thought before Hatter grips her hip tightly and lowers his head to her breast. He drags his stubble across the soft mound before latching his lips and tongue to the nub, playing furiously with it to Alice's delight.

She raises her hands up to his hips and travels up his back to tangle in his hair, her mouth gasping and calling his name in breathy whispers. Hatter slides his hand from her hip along her ribcage to grab the dangling strap. He wraps it around his hand like boxing wraps, pulling the material down and off her other breast. He switches his mouth's attention to the other breast, and helps by fondling it with the material of her dress wrapped around his hand. Alice releases his hair and raises her hands to her own scalp, pulling her hair tightly to keep herself from screaming. Hatter can hear her trying to speak without crying out.

"Hat-!" A deep breath. "Hatter! Mmgh, I, Hatter I-" Hatter knows she is getting impatient, that she is craving, but he wants to hear it, he wants to hear how badly she wants him. He raises his other hand to the waistband of her dress, sliding his hand just inside and rubbing his knuckles along her flat stomach, feeling her muscles quiver under his ministrations. "Augh! Hatter, please!" Hatter growls and nips her nipple just a shade too hard. Alice gasps and he immediately releases her from his mouth, trailing his tongue softly around the abused area. Alice finds the sensation incredibly erotic and moans aloud again, trying to convey her need to Hatter. "Hatter!" She fights to regain her breath as he blows cold air against the wet flesh. "Hatter, I need-" Hatter loses his patience, one hand reaching up and tearing the tie off her head, which was already loosening while pulling his head up to look her in the eye. His dark, desirous eyes seem so intense to Alice's blinking but aroused eyes.

"What is it that you need Alice? Tell me…" She notices he is still fondling her breast through the dress strap and his hand is venturing lower on her stomach. Her eyes are drifting closed and her mouth falls open but she doesn't answer fast enough. "Tell me Alice, tell me now!" Alice blinks as words tumble from her lips.

"Fuck me Hatter. Make me yours, over and over again." Hatter feels his already straining cock tighten further in his pants. He lowers his head to rest his forehead on hers as he loosens his hand from the strap and slides it under the waistband of the dress, using both hands to slide it down her hips and legs, until he is kneeling at her feet, helping her step out of the dress. Alice lifts her leg and lets it rest on his shoulder. Hatter smiles up at her evilly and rubs his hands up her thigh, tracing patterns, kneading gently but ignoring the place she wishes he would sink into. Judging the distance between Alice and the bed, he launches himself towards the bed, throwing Alice off balance and landing across the navy stripe of the bedspread. Alice feels his weight settle on her, her leg still above his shoulder and him straddling her other leg, which is bent a little to prevent discomfort.

Hatter turns his face to her leg, kissing the inner thigh as he slides off of her slowly, kissing all the way until he can stand at the foot of the bed to remove his clothing. Alice watches with hungry eyes as he reaches for his belt and pants. He opens them quickly and his erection jumps out, thick and red and ready. Alice grabs her breast in her hand; kneading it the way Hatter had and bites her lip in anticipation. Hatter strips as quickly as he can, seeing her eagerness and pulls her to the edge of the bed by hooking under her knees. Alice squeals at the sudden movement but quickly lays her feet on his shoulders.

Hatter takes in the last scrap of clothing, Alice's white lacy panties. They are tied together by two little bows, one on each of her hips. He delicately pulls the little strings and uses his thumbs to slide under the material and slide it off of her wet pussy. He lets the material fall to lie against the bed and lifts his hands to her ankles. He loves the feel of Alice's bare skin, soft and warm as his hands slide down her long legs to lift her hips to meet him. One hand lifts while the other guides himself in, straight to the long, keening moan of his name.

"Haatterrr!" Alice once again grips her breast and squeezes, making Hatter pound harder in reaction. Alice begins to tilt her hips as Hatter picks up speed and begins to throw his weight into the mix. She lifts her other hand so that she can grip both breasts and Hatter groans at the sight. His Alice wants to come on his cock so badly she is taking matters into her own hands.

"Fuck that's so hot luv!" Alice smiles up at him and lifts one hand to her mouth, sucking her index and thumb into her mouth quickly and then returning to her breast, using the two slick digits to tease her nipple. Hatter's eyes close and he bites his lip to hold back his orgasm. Alice is close and wants to arouse Hatter further. Dirty talking seemed to work before.

"Oh Hatter! Nngh, don't cum yet baby. for me, I want- mmhgh, I wanna cum with you, yeah, feel you fill me up." Hatter is trying but if Alice doesn't shut it, he won't be able to hold off. He bends between thrusts, lowering her legs to the bed and kisses her moaning lips, leaning on the balls of his feet to continue thrusting into her. The change in angle sends Alice ever higher and straight to her screaming orgasm, her tight walls closing around him and milking him for every last drop. Hatter has to stop kissing her lips as she comes, her mouth shooting open in a scream and staying open even as the sound trails off. Hatter collapses against her, both of their breathing labored. Eventually, Hatter pulls himself out slowly, Alice's eyes closing in complete satiation once more. He steps back a step, helps her up and walks towards the bathroom. Alice waits to follow until he turns on the light in the bathroom, so she won't trip over an end table or anything stupid. Hearing the rush of a tub, Alice grins as she walks towards the bathroom light.


	10. Chapter 10 M

**D.- Hello, Hello! I posted chapter 9 in a hurry, and then a few hours later, I realized that I didn't put an author's note. I was in a hurry cause it had been a few days since my last post, but still, I'm sorry for neglecting to welcome my newest reviewers as well as thanking my loyal core reviewers. I love you all greatly. You are the reason I write. **

**Let me start my belated author's note by welcoming BlackBulletButterfly, I appreciate the dance tip, I was thinking of enrolling them in dance lessons at a later date so that idea will be absolutely invaluable. For this first visit, I wanted to make the dance easy to follow, but still fun to watch. Hatter may be wonderful, but alas, he can't be perfect. I don't imagine there was much dancing in Wonderland so he had to jump into something pretty simple. I would also like to thank everyone who reviewed, you rock my proverbial socks and this one is for you. This one is Mature, so beware kiddies!**

Hatter was filling a beautiful marble Jacuzzi tub when she stepped in. She smiles in anticipation, does a quick cleanup before asking Hatter's permission to go grab a drink. Hatter tells her to make herself at home, but to avoid getting too attached because the whole place will be redone if he has anything to say about it. Alice kisses his shoulder as she walks by and ventures out into the apartment. Her very first thought when she flicks on the light in the kitchen/living room is that Hatter was right to blindfold her on the way in. It is terribly distracting to see one horrible thing like the bright red and dark black checker board pattern for the kitchen backdrop and think it's the most terrible design idea ever conceived, only to turn around and see the giant stylized heart rug in the middle of the living room. Alice is glad she and Jack never made it into his apartment. She would never have taken him seriously and then she never would have chased him to Wonderland.

Spotting the fridge, Alice opens it up to find very little in the way of drinks. A canister that looks like a re-usable water bottle is in fact housing ground coffee beans. The large pitcher probably once held juice, but Jack must have let it separate completely and Alice is in no mood to try to stir it back together. She spots some water bottles in the vegetable crisper and pulls one out. She sips a little and grimaced as she sees more and more terrible decorating. She looks over the books on the bookshelf, but there are no classics, no romantic contemporary fiction, only travel guides and picture books to far away places in her world.

Alice carries her water bottle to the door near the exit, peeking her head in and flipping the light switch. The ghastly red bathroom makes her beat a hasty retreat, just remembering to turn off the light again. She comes around to the dining room table; tall, shiny black chairs surround a black marble table. It is cold to the touch and Alice can't imagine sitting at it to eat in the morning. She walks back towards the bedroom and turns on the light. The bed is nice, a completely different look than the rest of the apartment. The blue bedspread is a nice color and it suits the black rod iron frame. Through the bed's navy canopy, she spots another door. Intrigued, she steps to the door and opens it slightly, feeling for a light switch. When she finds it and flicks it, she sees a bare closet with some garbage bags in the back of the room. Frowning, she is about to approach to investigate when she hears Hatter stepping into the room. She ducks back out, turning off the light, and is almost flush against him, looking like a kid with her hand caught in the cookie jar. Hatter just kisses her nose.

"Bath's almost full luv, let's get to it." Alice smiles, relieved that he isn't cross with her. She follows him into the bath, where the hot water warms her legs as she lowers herself into the water. Hatter kneels behind her, making quick breaths of discomfort as he gets closer to being submerged. Alice suddenly sits down in the depression and is almost completely covered by the almost too hot water. She smiles blissfully as she reclines her head back against the headrest. Hatter sits down opposite her, his hand straying over to massage her calf. Alice smiles happily at him.

"I'm so glad that we're in this bathroom and not the other. That room is a monstrosity." Hatter nods absentmindedly, his eyes drifting closed as he releases Alice's leg. Alice watches him relax for a minute, seeing the frown lines fade to nothing. She pulls her legs down into the deepest part of the depression and stands up. Hatter's eyes shoot open to see her stepping into the small gap between his legs. He widens the gap and watches the water drip down her legs before she sits carefully in the gap and leans against his chest. Hatter lets his head rest on her shoulder, the feeling of bliss so strong that he is afraid to speak and ruin it. Alice rubs her check against his gently and it makes him smile. They share soft touches and gentle kisses until Alice begins to prune. She shows Hatter, who agrees they should get out now.

She stands and Hatter follows, grabbing up a large towel from the rack and wrapping it around her. He steps out to open the tall cupboard and pulls himself out a towel too. Alice is standing in the tub, her towel wrapped around her shoulders and watching him move around. He dries his body quickly, before he throws his towel over the shower stall to dry. He steps up to the tub, grabs Alice around the thighs and lifts her out of the tub. He sets her down gently on the bath mat and pulls her towel from her. He towels her off in a gentle manor, buffing the water off of her skin. She smiles and reaches for him, but he only places a gentle kiss on her lips.

"How about you go turn down the covers and we'll settle in?" Alice pulls her hand back and nods.

"Yeah, ok." She hangs her towel over the door to let it dry and wanders into the bedroom. Hatter unplugs the tub and walks straight to the bed, where Alice is laying on her side, facing his empty space. He jumps onto the bed with a grin, bounces once and then slides his feet under the blankets, pulling them up to his arm. He reaches for Alice and pulls her into him He debates with himself over telling her his true feelings. It is surely obvious to her that he desires her, and that he wants her physically, but he also wants her laughter, her secrets and her love.

Hatter tries to remember if she'd ever mentioned why she has trouble with men. He imagines it had something to do with her dad. A parent disappearing without a word for ten years has to give someone problems later on. Maybe she thinks he will leave her too, like one day, out of the blue, he'll just decide to move on while she is at work. Hatter can't even imagine it. This big, bustling world would be like prison if he weren't with Alice. He is about to open his mouth and tell her, when he hears her sigh in her sleep. He kisses her forehead and tries to fall asleep himself. If Alice isn't worried about him admitting his feelings at this moment, he shouldn't either.

They turn in the night and every time Alice rolls away from Hatter, he pulls her close again. Hatter awakes in the night, curls around Alice's back and she is holding his hand. He smiles as he kisses her shoulder and tucks her hair out of her face. He watches the gentle swelling of her nose as she breathes, the soft twitching of her eyes and thanks every star in the sky that Alice found her way to him. He watches her for some time before he settles down to sleep again. When he pulls her to him, her back flush against his side, she sighs in her sleep and murmurs his name. Hatter grins widely and lays his head down onto his pillow, falling asleep.

Hatter is caught in the throes of the most erotic dream of his life. He is naked as the day he was born, taking Alice against the glass of the giant bedroom window. He can almost feel the glorious heat of her wrapped around him in the most intimate of ways. He can feel himself waking up and fights valiantly to stay for just a little longer, stay long enough to hear Alice call his name. His face furrows in concentration as he tries to fight his way back to sleep, but he suddenly realizes that even as he wakes up, the amazing feelings continue. He opens his eyes to see his lovely Alice, cheeks hollowed around his cock, head bouncing in a rhythm only she knows. He moans her name as their eyes meet and he closes his eyes again. Alice uses her hands to tease him, roaming around his hip, up his chest and tweaking his nipples, making him lick his lips and moan for her again.

Every sound from his lips makes her wetter and she hopes that he will reciprocate for her when he is finished. She bobs with renewed vigor at the thought of him pleasing her. She twists her tongue around the sensitive head when she comes up and tightens her throat around it when she bobs down. Hatter is so aroused and his moans are getting closer together, so Alice slides her hand down to cup his balls, squeezing fondly and rolling them around in her warm hand, making Hatter stiffen, his mouth opening in a silent moan. Alice would have grinned, if her mouth wasn't already completely full of now squirming Hatter. Feeling him close, she slides her hand a little lower, her fingers putting pressure on that sweet spot just below his sack that makes him groan out her name and cum immediately. Feeling smug, she swallows every drop of her prize, with Hatter watching her intently.

She grins but he just pulls her up to kiss him. Surprise parts her lips at first, that Hatter would kiss her afterwards is completely unexpected. Boys usually don't want to taste themselves. Hatter licks her bottom lips as her mouth has stayed open a second too long. Pulling her thoughts back to the hard, warm man beneath her, she kisses him back, sealing their lips and sliding her hand under his head to hold him up. Hatter slides one hand over to her hip as the other trails up her spine. Alice releases his lips to lean back and moan at the feeling and Hatter latches on to her nipple, teasing with lips and teeth and tongue. Alice keeps her hand under his head to support him as he slowly drives her mad with need.

She feels his hips moving, bucking up even though she's not centered over his pelvis. She has only a second to ponder before she is rolled under him to look up into his sly, grinning face. She releases his head and laughs a little, before she feels his hand sliding up her thigh. She closes her eyes and worries her lip between her teeth, just feeling his hand slide higher. She catches her breath when he slides his hand gently, almost no pressure over her center, making her want more. She tries to subtly push her hips up for more contact but he pulls away completely.

Alice opens her eyes as Hatter leans forward to kiss her, distracting her from his moving arm. His lips touch hers as his fingers slide along her wet folds, gathering a little moisture before slipping in easily. Alice moans into Hatter's mouth and he trails his lips down her jaw and neck, finally latching onto her breast with lips and tongue. His hand picks up speed, wiggling and curling against her g-spot repeatedly. Alice feels the heat rising in her body, the delightful wiggling and the gentle but constant pressure against her nipple making her buck her hips against him. Hatter is well pleased with himself until he feels a little hot and bothered himself. He feels himself hardening at her cries and he slows his hand movements, eventually pulling out. Alice opens her eyes in confusion just in time to see Hatter position himself and drive home. He manages to speak as soon as he finishes his initial moan.

"I hope you don't mind luv, you were getting me hard all over again." Alice moans before replying on a breathy whisper.

"Definitely NOT a problem." Alice thrusts her hips up to meet Hatter's but their blissful union is cut short when Alice's cell phone rings. Alice leans up, and Hatter backs off quickly, stepping off the bed as Alice races over to Hatter's pants, pulling the little cell phone out and answering the phone.

"Mom? Is everything okay?" Hatter groans a little in frustration and Alice smiles at his discomfort. She'll be sure to make it up to him quickly.

"Sunday brunch sounds lovely. We'd be glad to come. I'll be a bit though, your call woke us up. Well if you haven't started cooking yet, we should be there in plenty of time. Yep, see you soon. Love you!" She smiles and hangs up the phone, watching Hatter turn to grab his boxers. Alice smiles evilly.

"If you're going to get dressed, don't rush. I'm not leaving until I get off, even if I have to do it myself." The sexual need in Alice's voice makes Hatter drop the boxers he had picked up, turn and crawl onto the bed. Alice pushes him down and straddles his legs. She grips his semi-erect cock in both her hands. "I knew you'd see things my way." She slides her hands up and down his hardening member a few times before inching her way up to position herself. Hatter bucks his hips, thrusting into her warmth after she wiggles her hips over him, touching his tip to her opening. Alice lets herself fall onto his hips, her weight pushing him just a bit deeper and making them both moan. She braces herself on his chest and rocks her hips in a steadily increasing rhythm.

Hatter reaches his arms up to brace himself on the headboard, using his arms as support, making his matching thrusts harder and deeper. Alice's eyes close and her head rolls back, her slightly curled hair flying back to fall against her shoulder blades. Alice's moans grow louder and Hatter feels the pressure building but Alice beats him to the punch. He stops thrusting when she screams in pleasure and begins pulsing around him. Alice's blissed out face looks down at him, locks eyes with him and whispers: "Keep going."

Hatter rolls them over so that he is once again leaning over her, and thrusts into her gently. Her moan of ecstasy gives him confidence and he begins thrusting harder. Alice is already very sensitive and highly aroused so a second orgasm begins to build, faster than the first. She begins to meet his thrusts again, and their synchronized moans fill the room until a minute later, they both come again. Hatter collapses onto Alice, gasping in air, his stomach and back muscles tightening with every spurt. Alice wraps her arms around his back and kisses his shoulder.

"Alice, that was-" Alice nods mutely as he finishes. "-Amazing!" He takes a deep breath and levers himself up to see her face. Flushed and sated, Hatter once again marvels at his good luck. He stares into her eyes as he speaks. "Alice, I…" Her eyes light up with the faintest look of both hope and panic all at once. Hatter beats down his first impulse, to share his innermost feelings and covers smoothly. "Alice, I need to grab a shower before we go to your mother's." Hatter lowers his head so that he doesn't have to see which emotion now fills her eyes.

"Well get to it then, we need to get going really soon!" Hatter pulls out and rolls off, rushing into the bathroom to have a quick shower.


	11. Chapter 11

**D.- Almost forgot my author's note again. I've got a lot of reviews hoping they get to the "I love you" stage soon. Bear with me celtic, a few chapters yet. If they're this gun shy now, they need something pretty big to push them along to that stage. To PerfectDisaster22, they most definitely will take dance lessons, I'm just working it into "the plan", scuba, I'd actually completely forgotten about her telling him that, but it fits damn near perfectly in the chapter I cam currently writing, so thanks for the reminder! And Rue, the end of Chapter 10 was the catalyst for the emotional drama that follows, leading up to the "I love you" confessions. It only gets more emotional from here. Hope you like it!**

Alice manages to control her sudden urge to cry. She isn't sure what she was hoping he would declare, but it wasn't that he needed a shower. She stands and on her way to the bathroom to clean up, grabs her dress, laying it down on the bed. She can remember the sweet, sensual time they had the night before and it almost brings a tear to her eye again. Frustrated, Alice forces herself to take a deep breath and fiddles with her dress, flattening out the material, anything to keep her hands busy. With a sigh, she grabs the tie up panties and makes her way over to the bathroom, spotting Hatter leaning both hands against the wall and rolling his head back and forth under the spray of water. Alice cleans herself up and ties her panties on just as the shower shuts off. Alice runs the water in the tap and washes the makeup off her face, something she should have done last night after her bath.

The soft, sweet smelling bubbles cleanse away her makeup and she imagines the water washing away her upset as well. She focuses on the positive things. She is going to take Hatter back to her mom's for Sunday brunch with her dad! She's not had Sunday brunch with her dad in over ten years. She rinses her face once more and then blots her face dry with a hand towel. Hatter is still in the process of drying off slowly but she wanders up with renewed and youthful energy, places a kiss on his lips and almost skips out of the room. She slides on her dress, opting to drape the straps over the opposite shoulder and then wrap the rest of the material around her waist and tie it, leaving her dress looking like a cap sleeved day dress instead of the classy frock she'd worn the night before.

Her hair is in no state to be seen in public and she doesn't have an elastic, but she pulls the two silver ribbons from her shoes and ties them around her head like a hair band. She runs her hands through her hair gently to untangle it, managing to make her limp curls look less bedraggled. With the silver accents, she finds that she looks pretty good and feels comfortable returning home. She looks up as Hatter steps into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist.

He smiles shyly and digs into a bag still sitting on a little table between two plush lounge chairs. He pulls out socks and underwear before he moves to the bed to slip them on. That much accomplished, he pulls on his faded jeans and steps into the closet. He emerges with a black long sleeved button down, which he is fastening. He doesn't reach for a tie, or a belt or a vest, and Alice thinks he looks simple, yet stunning. His hair isn't tamed at all, sticking in all directions and slowly coming to rest, curling around his collar. When he slips on the shoes from last night but doesn't reach for a hat, alarm bells start ringing in Alice's head.

"What's the matter Hatter? Why no hat today?" He just smiles a weak smile, waving her off.

"No point if we're going there just for a meal, I'll only have to take it off again when we get there." Alice thinks this is a strange reaction but lets it slide, vowing to pay extra close attention to him throughout the day. Hatter takes her hand, places a kiss on it and leads her to the door, where he checks his pockets to make sure he has his wallet and keys. Alice pipes up to tell him that she's put her cell in her purse before he closes the door.

The walk home is quiet, but not tense. Hatter seems to just have nothing to say. Alice asks him about his plans for the apartment, but he just shrugs and says he'll figure it out after he gets a chance to go look for some new furnishings. Alice nods as they reach the crosswalk. Hatter steps up a little faster, eager to push the button for her, to show off his knowledge. Alice smiles at him, the little glow of accomplishment making her think her earlier concern is unfounded. He looks both ways before crossing the street and walks just a little faster as he crosses, clearly eager to get out of the road. Alice looks at him askew, and he spends the last minutes of the walk to her mom's apartment explaining how he'd almost been hit by a car on his way home the first night. Alice's hand tightens on his, much to Hatter's delight. They arrive at the apartment and make their way up, Alice's nervous energy making Hatter edgy. He stops her before she steps up to her mother's door and pulls her into a tight embrace, finishing with a deep kiss. Alice looks perplexed but he just smiles and explains with a shrug.

"I won't get another kiss for a while, what with your parents in the room. Just needed a little Alice to hold me off til later." His wicked grin makes Alice blush prettily as he knocks on the door. Alice pulls out her key and lets them in warily.

"Mom, we're here!" She steps in and lets her keys fall into the bowl. Carol peeks out of the kitchen, while drying her hands on a tea towel.

"Great! I could really use a glass of that orange juice. Coffee is just too much for me this morning." Alice stares at her mother for a moment before cringing.

"I completely forgot that you asked me to pick up some juice mom! I'll just grab some different shoes and- Orange and Apple right? Yeah, I just need-" Hatter interrupts.

"I can just run down for you Alice, I'm sure the corner store sells juice." Alice turns to look at him, an unsure look crossing her face.

"Are you sure? You don't-" Hatter smiles and kisses her nose, which prompts her mom to duck back into the kitchen with a smile.

"I'll be back before you know it." Alice lays both her hands on his shoulders and stretches up to kiss his lips chastely.

"Thank you so much! I'll just grab a quick shower and change; breakfast should be ready when you get back." Alice grabs her keys and points out which one would open the door downstairs as well as the door to the apartment.

"Right then, be right back shall I?" Alice holds the door open as he steps over to the elevator. The elevator itself is still on their floor so he steps in quickly, keeping his eyes locked on Alice, who is still standing in the door, watching him with a dopey grin on her face. As the elevator closes, Alice is jolted back to her lack of time. She almost slams the door, and bolts into her bedroom to gather her clothes and a towel from the hallway linen closet. Robert looks around the corner after hearing the door slam and just catches his daughter's form running into her room from the corner of his eye. He turns to Carol, who just smiles.

"Still a few teenage hormones left I guess."

Rushing through her shower, all Alice can think about is that her life has taken a dramatic turn for the better in the last three days. She gets her dad back, a wonderful boyfriend and a great big breakfast. Smiling like a lunatic, she dries off and puts on her underwear. Standing in front of the mirror, she combs through her hair and twists it up on her head with a chopstick. She pulls on her tank top and jeans but doesn't slip on her button down striped denim shirt until she gets back to her room to grab the socks that she forgot. Once she's all dressed, she makes her way out to the kitchen, where she watches her parents cooking breakfast together.

Her dad is just standing near her mom, making toast and chatting softly to her about this or that. The mere sight of him there makes Alice's heart constrict in her chest and tears spring to her eyes. She can't believe that he's here, that she gets to share her adult life with her father, whom she secretly feared she'd never see again. She steps back behind the wall that separates the kitchen from the hall and leans against it, trying hard to reign in her tears. When a small sniffle escapes, Alice holds her breath, hoping that she didn't just ruin her parent's moment. When her father steps around the wall to see her teary-eyed and clutching her mouth, he very softly calls her name.

"Alice?" Alice can feel her resolve crumbling, her determination to remain adult in her interactions with her father fading as she remembers all the times she'd wished for her father and he couldn't be there. Robert pulls her slowly and very carefully into his arms, unsure if she will welcome his hug or push him away. His relief when she throws herself into his chest starts his own crying, tears of relief that he hasn't completely ruined their relationship.

Their dual sobs draw Carol over, breakfast forgotten. Robert looks up at her, his large wet tears falling down to mingle in his scruff. He disentangles an arm from behind Alice and offers Carol a part in their embrace, which she rushes into gladly.

Hatter returns soon after, knocking before entering, much as Alice had done. Carol is back at the oven, wiping her eyes gently with her knuckle and smiling gratefully at him as he carries over the juice.

"What's the matter Carol? Where are Alice and Robert? Is everything-" Carol stuns the boy into silence as she reaches over and hugs him quickly and tightly. "Uh, what?" Hatter mumbles, confused but gently returning the hug to Carol.

"Thank you David. You brought me back my husband and my little girl. Thank you so much!" Hatter, clearly uncomfortable, reaches a hand back to tangle in the longish ends of his hair at the back of his neck.

"S'nothing, really." Carol shoots him a look that says 'You know it means the world to me.' So he corrects himself. "Well, I couldn't let 'em get shot now could I?" Carol reaches over to grab more bread for the toast with a sarcastic half-laugh, but Hatter offers his help, since Carol is busy overseeing the eggs, bacon and potatoes. It is exactly 4 pieces of toast later that Alice and Robert come into the room, both have been crying but their smiles are genuine.

Robert shakes Hatter's hand, at least he does once Hatter puts the toast down. Alice slips past Hatter to pull down some serving plates for the food, which she hands to her father. She then sets the table, with Hatter's help. She sits down on one side of the table, patting the chair next to her for Hatter. He smiles and sits himself down, receiving a small peck on the cheek, which makes him look up in a panic at her father. When no glares or beatings come forth, he relaxes a little and smiles at Alice.

"You ok then luv?" She nods.

"Thanks to you, yeah I'm great." Hatter beams and takes her hand in his as Carol and Robert transfer the serving dishes to the table and everyone digs in. Hatter discovers that he really likes bacon and potatoes, but that scrambled eggs are kind of bland. Light conversation fills the room until its time to clean the table. Carol insists she will clean them up, and Robert stays to help so Alice and Hatter cuddle up on the couch with TV and tea.

**I love to hear from the readers, good/bad/indifferent, it makes me post faster, no word of a lie. I'm a few chapters ahead and the muse is available so I'll be writing a lot and the further I get done, the more I want to post to see if you guys like it. **

**5 reviews for the chapter puts me in such a good mood that I have to post, IMMEDIATELY. Just food for thought. **


	12. Chapter 12

**D.- Hello! I was about to go cook me and my hubby a late supper when I noticed I had a fifth reviewer, so food can wait, I'm correcting and posting this immediately. Luvconnor, I know it's such a mood kill anyway when a phone is ringing that I just made her jump up and get it. I also know that it doesn't really 'kill' a mood, it just distracts from it. I'm sorry I made you cry Rue, well ok, it's really flattering that you cried, so I guess I can't be sorry, but I can be grateful you told me. **

The rest of Sunday was spent laughing and talking with her parents until dinner, when Alice begged off and stole Hatter away from her parents to take him out for Pizza at the best little Italian eatery in the state. Hatter loved the experience and looked forward to their next pizza trip already. After dinner, Hatter escorted her back to her mums so that she could get a good night's sleep for her marketing class in the morning. Alice had explained over dinner that she was only a part time instructor for now because she was taking a business management course so that she could take over for her mentor when he retires.

After a gentle kiss goodnight, and Alice's promise to call him the next day after her class, they went their separate ways. Alice managed to call him after her three hour class, only to inform him that she wouldn't be able to meet him for lunch because she only had an hour and a half before she had to attend her second class of the day. She would grab a sandwich and get a head start on her class assignment. After the second class, her mother relayed that her Sensei had called to organize a testing session before she could resume her teaching Tuesday night. She agreed, made the appointment, ate a light dinner and stopped by Hatter's for a good luck kiss before she left for her testing session. Sensei Chang was strict and felt that in no circumstances should a less than capable teacher be left to supervise others in his dojo.

Whenever someone was injured, they were made to take a physical test, at the dojo before they were permitted to teach once again. She would be made to do some endurance testing and he would ask her questions throughout to test her mental capabilities. Alice was exhausted, but pleased that her sensei found her capable. She trudged straight home to her mother's and into bed, forgetting completely to call Hatter.

Tuesday, Alice woke up late, feeling sore and made good use of the shower when her dad had finished. One very hot shower later, and she felt almost human. She changed into street clothes, which were difficult to find since she was running out of clothes so she opted to do some laundry. Once the first load was in, she returned to the apartment and called Hatter. After apologizing for not calling, she told him about the laundry and invited him over to keep her company until after lunch when she had to go into work. Hatter declined the invite, explaining that he was busy and would have to call her later. He did however end the call with a sweet. "Miss you, bye." Alice continued her laundry, noticing for the first time that her dad wasn't at the apartment anymore. She had thought her mom had gone to work, but perhaps she was going to meet him for lunch or something and he left already.

On her second last trip up the elevator, Mrs. Johnstone opened her door and they started chatting. The lady and her husband had really helped her mother out in her formative years, when Carol had needed to leave on assignment, Mr. and Mrs. Johnstone had gladly taken young Alice into their home, keeping her occupied, even organizing play dates with their granddaughter Amy. Amy and Alice had been close as children, but around grade ten, they fell out and never reconciled. Alice stopped coming over to visit the Johnstones at that age, but they still checked in on her at home if Carol was away. After a lengthy conversation about the Johnstone's Yorkshire terrier "Cookie", Alice entered her apartment again, to find that she had missed a phone call.

It was from her father, telling her mother that he wouldn't be home for dinner tonight, that Hatter needed his help and they'd be at it late enough that he'd probably be best off to crash in Hatter's spare room. Alice felt guilty that she wasn't the one spending time with Hatter, helping him out with his problems. Her dad was probably getting him set up at a job bank or something so that he could get a little money set aside for himself. Alice knew that she was probably more suited to the job, what with him having been out of the country for the last ten years. At least she knew where unemployment offices were.

Alice prepared her bag for work, folding her gi and some towels and a reusable water bottle into her gym bag. She then gave herself a decent pedicure. She would never admit it, but her feet were her secret anxiety. Since her feet were naked during her lessons, they always had to look their best. That task complete and her bag packed, she went down to bring up the last of her laundry to fold and put away. Just before leaving, she thought about calling Hatter, but if he wanted to talk about anything, she might not catch the subway in time and she'd be late. She would be sure to call him later tonight after her class.

The class went well and she remembered to call Hatter immediately after. She spoke to him for a little while before he told her again that he had to go since her dad was still over. She let him go with a sick feeling in her gut. She'd once thought that Hatter had come through the mirror for purely selfish reasons, because he needed to get away from Wonderland for himself. Well his attitude these last two days confirmed it for her, almost as if he was busy living his life and couldn't put in the effort to entertain her. Her dad was right along for the ride, enjoying his bachelor lifestyle since that is what he had in Wonderland.

Alice imagined them going down to the unemployment office this morning, and then returning to the penthouse to relax, maybe watch some guy TV, or discussing Wonderland life in the past tense, reminiscing about the good things. Alice knew she should have taken some time off work so that she could focus on Hatter. He needed her to help him; there are some things that she'd just be better at helping him with. Her knowledge of clothing stores in the area would have helped Hatter find just the right style of clothing sooner. She would be able to show him to the nearby grocery stores and markets, so he could buy the loose leaf tea her mom buys. She knew her neighborhood better and Hatter should be looking to her for help. Alice was about to call and ask to come over when she realized he might not want to feel obliged to her. She stewed over her assumptions all night.

Wednesday dawned and Alice got up at her usual early hour and took a jog. She detoured over to Hatter's afterwards and woke him up with the promise of a bagel and tea from the corner store if he wanted to join her. Hatter was dressed and ready to go in minutes, meeting her down in the lobby. She asked about her dad, but Hatter claimed that he was still dead to the world, so they would just bring him back a bagel. After their early morning New York breakfast, Hatter escorted her home, at a walk, and they went their separate ways again. Alice did her back to back courses and then taught her evening class before returning home and calling Hatter. They talked a little before Hatter literally fell asleep on the phone with her. Alice hung up and considered that reaction. Could Hatter be bored of her already? With that terrifying thought in her head, Alice fell into a very troubled sleep.

Thursday, Alice was at it again. It started with studying her business history for a few hours, which was really only an excuse to beat herself up for her treatment of Hatter. She hadn't told him her week would be booked, only that she'd call him after her test on Monday. It's no wonder he's distancing himself. She'd be sure to set him straight tonight. She'd make a copy of her schedule for him, so that he knows where she is and at what time, and put her cell phone number on it so he can call her anytime she's not doing something. Maybe she'd get him a cell phone so they could text and talk to each other during all of Alice's travel time. She decided that she would take extra good care of him on the weekend. She'd make sure he did some groceries and gets enough clothes to last the week. She'd show him the laundry facilities in his building and teach him how to use it. An idea came to Alice suddenly.

She leapt up from her studying on the bed and plunked down in front of her computer. She would pick some pictures of her to send to the Wal-Mart print centre and have a calendar printed up. She'd fill in the important dates in for him and surprise him with it tonight. Since she didn't have any school classes and she only had to teach a group Friday at 4pm, she would ask him if he wanted her to spend the night with him, and they could rent some movie or other and just be together for the night. As she was picking out the pictures, she came across an older picture of herself holding up a cheesy sign that said 'I miss you'. She had taken the picture for a friend going off to college out of state. She could just as easily take a similar picture and hold up a sign that says 'I love you Hatter' Sure, they'd never said it out loud, but he had to love her, he's saved her life at the risk of his own so many times, he just had to. Alice began to doubt herself and her perception of his feelings, but decided she would make up the calendar today, pick it up before heading to his house and she could just wait to give it to him until she was sure how he felt.

Alice made the sign quickly, with a bright pink Bristol board, cut into the shape of a heart and a thick black sharpie. She drew little hearts all around the outside of the heart as a border. She flat ironed her hair and changed her sweater from an over-large plain sweatshirt to a more flattering navy knitted cardigan. She set up her camera with a timed shot and held the picture for a few seconds until the camera flashed. She took a dozen pictures before finding one that she liked. Sending it along with 12 others to the print shop, she packed her work bag with overnight supplies. She had a nice nightie, some clothes for tomorrow and her toiletries all packed under her gi. It was still only 11 so she sat down and tried to study some more.

Two hours later, she was up and heading off to the Wal-mart to get her calendar. It wasn't quite ready yet to be assembled so Alice wandered around the store. She ended up in the bath and body section and was sniffing at body washes. She didn't much care for the one Hatter had used Sunday morning. It smelled too strongly of musk and it made her want to sneeze. She sniffed through a dozen different bottles when she found a dark blue body wash, one that smelled something like the one Hatter had in his apartment in Wonderland. This body wash was clearly meant for a man, but it was called 'Ocean Fresh' It smelled clean with hints of musk and Alice thought it was as close to his soap as she could find.

In the next aisle, there were deodorant sticks, and the process started all over. She finally found a 'Silver Ice' that she liked well enough and put both in a little basket before returning to the photo shop to pay. She took all of her purchases back to her mom's and finished her errands before calling Hatter, the clock now reading 2:14pm. Hatter asked her out for pizza and Alice agreed readily. They agreed to meet outside Alice's place at 5 and share a taxi. Alice had just finished writing in all the important dates in Hatter's new calendar and had taken some of her mom's wrapping paper stash to wrap it nicely in simple striped blue paper. She tied the body wash and deodorant into a bundle with a big bow and slipped both gifts into her bag and under her gi.

Her mom came home as she was arranging her hair for her date. After a dozen different clothing changes, she was in white skinny jeans with navy high heels, a magenta lace tank top and her navy knitted cardigan. Her mother stepped in and whistled at her before offering a make-up lesson. Alice declined and opted for simple black eyeliner on her upper eye lid and light pink lip gloss. Alice stepped out into the living room and saw her mom making tea. Alice accepted a cup after ensuring she'd have enough time to enjoy it before meeting Hatter. Her mom sat with her in the living room and their conversation was completely Robert-centric. Alice listened as her mother went on about all the great things she had forgotten about Robert. When Alice finished her tea, Alice looked up to see the time was now 4:50. Alice rushed into the kitchen with her tea cup, rinsed it out and left it in the sink.

"We're going out tonight mom, for pizza at Joey's, and then I'm going to stop back over here and pick up my overnight bag. I'll see how the weekend goes, but I probably won't be home except to grab some more clean clothes." Carol listened with a sly smile, wondering if Alice had noticed the difference between her two month relationship with Jack and her week with David. She'd never even been to Jack's place in the month they had been dating, but she had spent the night there last night, less than a week after meeting David. She watched Alice double checked herself in the mirrored closet door, grabbing a purse and her keys before leaving the apartment.

**(A.N. Hi, me again. I need your opinions, only honest ones please. This chapter is a bit of a review of the week's events, which is how I bypass large amounts of time without just leaving a gap. Let me know what you think. If you all prefer I skip from one point to the next (in this case, I would have left off after the Sunday breakfast scene and skipped right to dinner and only had an EXTREMELY brief paragraph to explain the weeks troubles.) The reason I did it this way was because I hate to loose portions of their lives, I feel invested in everything they do and I do a lot of foreshadowing, so having more space makes it less obvious. Please let me know which way works better in your opinion. Thanks!)**


	13. Chapter 13

**D.- Here is chapter 13, not much to say except that everyone seems to like the "review style" chapters, which is good, It's not that I plan so many, it's just that I might need to use them later, to skip a little time, without losing them in the process. I just don't want to write a day to day story because this story only wraps up in about 6 months time, I don't want to have a couple hundred chapters lol. Thank you all for your input, and for PerfectDisaster22, you noticed the tension building, here's the tension climax. Enjoy!**

Hatter is already waiting outside the apartment when she gets downstairs. She takes a moment to admire him. He is wearing distressed boot cut jeans with a tight grey crew neck t-shirt under a navy blue sport coat with extremely subtle pin striping and a vibrant red liner peeking out. His fedora is navy with a striped ribbon around the base that is pinned to the side. The grey, white and black stripes are equal in width, but there is a thin vein of red between the black and the white stripe, giving the hat a subtle punch of color, just like Hatter's coat. He turns and sees Alice as she steps out of the glass door and his smile lights up so bright, Alice can't think of anything to say.

"You look nice." His words are short and sweet but the way his hand strays to her hip, just to touch reverently and his eyes slide up to meet hers make her smile in return.

"You clean up nice too." Alice slides her hand down to take his hand as they walk up to First St. to hail a cab. Hatter hands her into the car and then slides in next to her as he hears her call the address to the driver. They slip on their seatbelts and Hatter pulls her hand up to his lips to kiss it.

"I missed you this week, my lovely Alice." Alice smiles saucily at him.

"I missed you too. I wonder if I could make it up to you. I've only got one class to teach all weekend, and no school classes. I could stay with you, if you have room for me." Hatter's hopeful and happy eyes make Alice grin. "Does that mean yes dear?" Hatter pulls her face to his for a lengthy kiss.

"That's a hell yeah luv." The car turns the corner and the cab slows to a stop in front of their destination. Hatter helps her out of the car and then pays the man. Escorting her into the restaurant, Hatter wonders how long it will take him to ask Alice to stay with him permanently.

Their pizza is delicious, Alice made sure to order a pizza with bacon on it because Hatter claims that ever since breakfast with her parents, he's been trying different bacon laden foods as often as he can. They spend the time waiting for pizza discussing all the restaurants that Hatter has eaten from. He concludes that almost all of them were disappointing to him and Alice feels her guilt creep up on her because she should have been around more to steer him away from all the bad restaurants. Their pizza arrives just as Hatter notices that Alice isn't really participating in their conversation now. Just as a test, he throws out a bogus line.

"-and the cat standing on that lady's head just winked at me." Alice nods, non-plussed. Hatter reaches forward and takes her hand, which makes her eyes snap up to his, the guilt glaringly obvious. Hatter feels his insides freeze up and then melt down instantly at the sight. What could Alice have done to make her feel this badly? "Alice, luv? You ok?"

Alice forces a smile onto her lips and pulls a piece of pizza off the stand.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I was just thinking is all." She bites into the pizza, trying to discourage the conversation from continuing. Hatter can read her despair from across the table so he launches into a nonsense story from his childhood in Wonderland. They chat through dinner, Alice grateful for the change in topic but Hatter, behind his cheerful mask has to tamper down on the ice-cold feeling of worry gnawing away at his insides. Before leaving the restaurant, Alice uses her cell phone to call a cab to take them back to their neighborhood. She takes a few minutes in the bathroom to compose herself and push her guilt for abandoning Hatter down as far as it can go. She is already working towards redeeming herself, so she doesn't need to show him how bad she is hurting for him. She splashes some water on her cheeks, washes her hands and then rejoins him in the lobby.

They leave the restaurant and step into the waiting cab. Alice holds his hand in hers because his touch always calms her. In the cab, Hatter is unwilling to start an important discussion but the guilt in Alice's eyes and the terrible coldness it left in his gut have made up his mind. He and Alice need to talk about whatever is bothering her. Alice leans into his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. The soft rock on the radio is pleasant so Hatter just listens to the words. When the cab reaches Alice's building, they step out, Alice paying the cabbie since she was faster. When the cab pulls away, Alice is only thinking about her overnight bag, its little surprises and spending the weekend with her boyfriend. She spares a quick glance at Hatter, her smile warming his terror-frozen heart enough that he can breathe properly. Alice steps towards the door, but Hatter grabs her wrist.

"Alice?" She stops and looks at him, confused.

"What's the matter Hatter?" Hatter fights the urge to roll his eyes and sigh dramatically.

"I was about to ask you that, and I want a real answer, not that "I'm fine" junk." Alice blinks, Hatter's mood putting her back up.

"Nothing is wrong Hatter. I'm excited to go get my things and get to your place for a weekend of us." Hatter takes her other hand in his and continues when her eyes met his.

"If you say so Alice, I suppose I have no choice but to believe you." Alice bristles.

"What the hell does that mean? I've been nothing but honest with you Hatter. _I've_ never lied or used _you_." Hatter drops her hands like they've burned him and Alice's mind reels, trying to figure out how to take it back. All she can see is the hurt in his eyes.

"That was low Alice, I thought you trusted me? Maybe we-" Alice rushes to interrupt him.

"Hatter, I didn't mean-" Hatter lifts his hands in surrender. His anger is rushing about just beneath his skin, clawing to get out, to let loose just one solid punch.

"S'fine Alice. I need to go. I'll see ya." As he turns to leave and Alice's tears start to fall, she follows him a few steps, her voice cracking as she speaks.

"Ple-please Hatter. I'm sorry." She takes a breath before rushing to stand in front of him, a dozen steps from her home. Neither hears the door to the building open and a few men step out into the street, headed their way. Hatter stops walking.

"Get outta my way Alice, I'm in no mood to deal with this now. I need to get away from you, I don't want-" Alice, frustrated, reaches a hand out to touch his arm and he bats her hand away before he turns and punches a garbage can. Alice reaches for him again but his steely voice stops her dead. "Don't Alice." She can't make out his eyes from her current vantage point.

"Alice?" A man calls from behind Hatter. She looks around Hatter to see Jamie, one of her students at the dojo. "Is everything alright here Alice?" Alice wants to tell her student she is ok, that this is personal and she can handle it, but he continues. "Is this the guy you were talking about Monday night?"

Hatter turns to look at Jamie, clearly sizing him up. The man is bigger than he, nowhere near as nicely dressed and carrying a little too much weight, as evidenced by the beer gut beneath his sweater. Hatter notices the other man eyeing him up similarly and Hatter secretly hopes the man would make a move, so that Hatter can rid himself of the aggression.

Instead, he just steps away from Alice to address Jamie.

"Have a care mate, she's in an ornery mood tonight. She'll tear you down if you give her half a chance." As he speaks, Alice moves to block his exit. When he turns to leave after his little speech, he doesn't look before he takes a powerful and angry step toward First st. Alice's shoulder meets his and she cries out in surprise. Hatter's face drains of color and he apologizes immediately, his anger fleeing in the face of his guilt. He casts a look at Jamie who is coming closer and takes off. His two friends, who have been silent the entire time give chase as Jamie assesses Alice's arm. Alice brushes him off, hardly even sore, and runs after Hatter's retreating form.

"Stop! Guys leave him be!" They slow to a stop and come back a little out of breath.

"Jamie, you're in better shape, you should have chased him down." The one says as he gets close enough to Jamie and Alice. Alice interrupts.

"Thanks for caring and all, but he didn't even hurt me, just surprised me is all. Besides, he didn't mean to. Hatter would never hurt me." Alice watches his form disappear behind the corner store building and hugs herself. She looks up to her friend Jamie. "Why don't you introduce us then Jamie? Or is it uncool to have a female sensei?" Jamie grins proudly.

"Are you kidding? The only reason these two knuckleheads haven't joined the dojo already is because Jeff here works too much and doesn't have time…" He points to the taller, skinnier man with smart glasses and a leather jacket before continuing. "…and my baby brother Lucas has a girl that keeps him in line." Lucas throws a lazy punch in his brother's direction, opening his light jacket to reveal a long sleeved Henley cut shirt with a tribal dragon design climbing up his side. Alice smiles and sticks out her hand to shake theirs.

"I'm Alice, I teach part time at the dojo. If you guys are interested, let him know and I can find you a class to fit your schedule." Jamie smiles.

"You running that place yet Alice?" She shakes her head with a small smile.

"Not yet no."

Hatter has circled back around the building, staying in the shadow of the corner store building and watching his Alice with the men. He knows he should just go home, that if this Jamie is the reason she looked so guilty at dinner, he should give her the chance to explain for herself, he doesn't need to see it. He wishes it were that simple but his mind is torn in so many directions.

'_Should I stay to protect her in case their bad guys? Or even stay and watch in case she's not as faithful as he thought?' His heart restricts painfully and he tries to convince himself to go. 'I should go so that I won't have to feel the despair of watching her smile and laugh with other men, go so that I can let the emotions we stirred up in the argument die down.' _

His need to protect Alice, even if she'd most likely kick his ass for it muffles the other thoughts. He watches her shiver and two of the three men reach to take off their coats for her. She shakes her head no and gestures to the door of her building. She talks a moment more before giving the departing men a small wave and turning back into the building as the three men leave.

Hatter hurries back around the building, it won't do to have the men see him heading home. He doesn't wait for the light, just crosses the street since there is a reasonable break in traffic and he is sure he can make it. He runs the rest of the way home, collapsing in his newly painted apartment, the one he was so eager to show Alice. With Robert's help, he'd painted over the horrendous walls, retiled the kitchen and bathroom and bought some new furniture. It had taken him a few days and many contractors to remove the Heart influence, but now it is a place he is actually very proud to call his. He feels the wetness on his cheeks before he realizes he is upset. His redoing the place was meant to be a first step in asking Alice to move in with him. He wants her here, with him tonight, not at home, upset because he can't leave well enough alone.


	14. Chapter 14

**D.- Because some parents really do see the good in people, and I believe Carol is fair enough to help her daughter out by meddling, just a little. And because Robert has spent so much time with Hatter and he has no one else on this side of the mirror…yet! *cheeky grin* Ten points and a cookie if someone guesses which lovely character I am going to be bringing through the mirror to keep our heroes company. PerfectD, your reviews are lovely, well written insights into my soul, they make me want to be a better writer. Enjoy all, see if Hatter's torture ends soon.**

Alice lets herself into her mom's apartment automatically. She hears her parents speaking to her but the sounds seem distorted, like she is underwater. She sits in the living room, suddenly tired and upset. Carol comes over and sits with her, calling her name, and Alice can understand her name easily enough. She looks up to her mom's eyes and tilts her head like a confused puppy.

"We had a fight." Alice lets slip as unnoticed tears slide down her cheeks. Robert, suddenly smothered by the need to get out of dodge, lifts Carol's keys from the bowl on the table next to the door up to eye level and then points at them and then the door, smiling gratefully when Carol meets his eyes and nods. Robert escapes the apartment as quickly as he can, desperate to be away from the sight of his daughter crying.

Carol lays a hand on Alice's shoulder when she doesn't respond to her third attempt to ask what happened. Alice jars like she's been struck for a moment then looks at her mom. "We had a fight, mom." Carol nods gently.

"What happened dear?" Alice half-shrugs and Carol is about to ask again when Alice continues, looking down at the candle on the coffee table.

"I was thinking at dinner that I haven't been such a good girlfriend to him this week." She takes a moment to restrain the tears, her sniffles barely noticeable, except to her mother. "Those first few days, I was right there, around him constantly. And then my life took over, studies and the dojo and I just didn't have as much time for Hatter. I even forgot to call him Monday cause I was just so tired after my testing session." Alice takes a deep breath, her nose sounding suspiciously stuffy. "When we talked on the phone, he started to rush off, telling me he was busy and that since dad was there to help him, he needed to be available. I felt so guilty because I should be the one helping him." Her vehemence sparks a thought in Carol's head, but she chooses to keep it to herself for now. "Dad's been in Wonderland for ten years and things have changed a lot, I know a lot of things that would help Hatter, where he doesn't. I should have been there and I wasn't. He's not from here and he has no one to help him and I just deserted him. Hatter saved my life and-" Carol stops her suddenly.

"No!" Alice looks up at her mom curiously. Carol pats her hand as she speaks carefully. "Alice, you're in a tricky situation so let me give you some advice here honey. Yes, Hatter saved your life. Probably more than once, and he saved your Daddy's life too. I know you're grateful, I'm grateful and Daddy's grateful too. But you can't look at him as the man who saved your life." Alice looks a little frustrated.

"Yeah but he did, and that's how I feel." Carol rushes to explain.

"It's dangerous to think like that. You could find that you'd do anything for him, not because you love him, but because you owe him. You'll never have a healthy and well-balanced relationship if you let yourself feel like that." She gives Alice some time to think about it, to argue if she wants, but it seems that Alice is in agreement for now. Carol continues after a few minutes of pondering silence.

"Now about the rest. Alice, you see a bad girlfriend bailing on her 'new to the world' boyfriend, leaving him to fend for himself. Let me just tell you how I see it. Your very new man doesn't have a job. He doesn't have a traceable education or anyway to support you." She can see Alice getting angry and rubs her hand gently to placate her just a moment longer.

"Now, let me finish. He doesn't have those things now, but I'm sure he'll get them in the future. This is, quite literally, his first week. You need to worry about being the breadwinner at first dear. You need to finish what you need to do to support him until he can get a good foundation beneath him here." Alice's ire calms and Carol stops trying to talk fast enough to avoid a fight with her already upset daughter. She approves of Hatter, she really does. Even Carol loves the little rascal. She shakes her head to clear that train of thought before continuing with her pep talk.

"Classes and the dojo aside, I know you called him a few times and if he rushed you off the phone, it's not because he's upset or lonely. He was busy, making a relationship with your father from the sounds of it and settling into his new world. I can't say for sure, but maybe he's the type to learn from his own mistakes, the kind who gets on the bus to see where it leads instead of asking the bus driver what stop to take, you know?" Alice nods gently, her heart feeling a little less heavy as her mom beats down her arguments with vicious precision.

"Alice? There's one more thing I want to point out here." Alice takes a calming breath and waits. "Your whole speech was about how you felt guilty for abandoning him, leaving him alone all the time and leaving it to your dad to help him. I think that maybe you don't feel guilty so much as you wish he'd called on you for help. You want to help him through the change in his life because you want him to be happy." Carol has been gradually lowering her voice and begins to trail off while looking intently at Alice. Alice nods her head so softly, Carol thinks her eyes might be twitching.

"Yes mom, I think you're right. I think I'm upset that he doesn't need me the way I need him. I love him and I can't imagine my life without him in it. It's intense and sudden and I don't know what to do about it." Carol stands up and helps her stand. She walks to the door, grabs a pair of flats and carries them over, holding them in front of Alice.

"I'd change your shoes, since walking over to his place might give you blisters. Then I would go talk to him about your thoughts and feelings. Don't hold anything back." Alice sits still a moment, the shoes waiting in front of her and her mother's eyes watching her knowingly. Alice smiles up at her as she takes the shoes. Carol adds a comment as she picks up the dish towel and returns to the kitchen. Alice smiles to herself, ducks into her room to take her overnight bag and leaves the apartment, determined to set things right.

Hatter heard the buzzer and hope blossoms through his chest and only the tiniest spark of irritation remains. He had told her to leave him alone, hadn't he? He speaks through the com, trying to cover the rasp in his throat from his tears.

"Yeah?" He didn't know how much he had hoped it was Alice until his disappointment flooded his heart when he hears a man reply.

"Sounds like you need a friend."

Robert. It's just Robert. He thinks of sending him back to Carol's, but he wouldn't want to be around angry women either. "Be right down." Hatter grabs up his keys and takes the elevator down, letting Robert into the apartment building and accompanying him up the elevator ride to his apartment.

"Sorry to come barging into your place like this. When Alice showed up, upset, I just wanted to give her and her mom some space. I was just going to go for a walk and make my way back in about a half hour." The elevator doors have closed and they are making their way up. Robert can see the slightest puffiness in Hatter's eyes. He's clearly as upset as Alice, which is a good sign.

"I started walking and ended up here, thinking that you might not have someone else you can talk to about this stuff. I know I'm Alice's dad and all, but if you just need a friend to talk it out with, I promise I can be unbiased." Hatter is shocked and Robert can read it easily in the shiny door's reflection.

The elevator dings and he steps out, waiting for Hatter to take out his penthouse key and follow. He does so, but very slowly, and he is clearly deciding if he wants to talk about it. When he puts the key in the lock, Robert feels the tension and tries to break it.

"We could just hang out and watch some sitcom or other on TV for a bit if you prefer to suffer by yourself." Hatter laughs a little.

"Subtle Rob, subtle. I would like to talk about it, but I don't know what's wrong. Alice is hiding something, and when I tried to ask her what it was, she threw my past at me. How much had Alice told you about our experience in Wonderland?"

"I know that you saved her life, a few times at least. Why don't you tell me what I need to know? Just nothing…sexual, please. She'll always be my little girl." Hatter smiles wryly and a breathy guffaw escapes his parted lips.

"Basically, when I first met Alice, I was a business man, I ran the tea shop and secretly, I fed the resistance. That Queen is insane. Alice was brought to me by an acquaintance and I traded some tea for her. Then I brought her to the resistance to get her some help. I saw a big ring on her finger and thought that if they helped her, she would pay them with it. I'd get a cut and make back the cost of her." He flushes guiltily.

"Sorry that sounds so sordid. Well the resistance knew that she was wearing the stone of Wonderland and they tried to get it from her. Stubborn as she is, she kept refusing and before I could diffuse the situation, Dodo shot me." Robert looks a little stunned.

"You look pretty good for a dead guy." Hatter grimaces.

"You know there's no way to ease into that. I was shot, while wearing a Kevlar vest. Hurt like the dickens, but otherwise, I was fine. We escaped and during our whole adventure, I made reference to the ring. I didn't want her to have it. Jack giving it to her was a mistake, it made her a target, but she wouldn't listen. She got herself captured and Jack gave her your watch and I rescued her from the twin doctors. When we got clear of the casino, I asked her about the ring because it was vital to the resistance and de-throning the Queen. She understood only that I was greedy and wanted the ring, that I was using her, helping her only so that I could take it from her. It was only shortly before I shot that Walrus fella that she admitted to trusting me." Robert looks thoughtful as Hatter slinks over to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water.

"You want one Rob? Maybe a beer?" Robert calls back in the negative, trying to figure which part of his past Alice threw back at him. He doesn't have long to ponder because Hatter returns with his bottle and continues.

"Tonight, when I asked her what was wrong, she told me nothing again. I told her 'I guess I have no choice but to believe you.' And she launched into the fact that she'd never lied to me, never used me." Hatter's grip begins to crush the still half full bottle, so he switches the bottle to his left hand.

"It hurt. God did it hurt. I spent the better part of this week rushing to make this place half decent because I want her to enjoy spending time here. I want her to get used to it, so that when I figure the time is right and I ask her to move in, I want her to say yes." He looka nervously at Robert, who just smilea.

"I'm unbiased, remember? I'm just your buddy right now, not her dad." Robert smiles easily. "Sounds to me like that's not the end of the story. What else?" Hatter grimaces.

"We had the argument just outside Carol's apartment building. I started to get mad, and I have a hell of a temper, comes from being a Wonderlander. I'm a Hatter, I'll always be just a little odd, just a little more prone to madness than most. I've never struggled with it like I did today. I usually just beat up something or walk away. Alice wouldn't let me leave and I wouldn't let me hit her, so it just kept getting stronger. Finally, I lashed out at a nearby garbage bin, but someone she knows came up and butted in." He looks up at Robert then, gauging his reaction, but decides to go for it. There really is no one else he can talk to about it and talking to himself only promotes madness.

"The man insinuated they had seen each other on Monday night, the night she didn't call me. I'm not jealous, I swear it to you Robert, but at dinner tonight, she looked so guilty and we didn't have much conversation and she refused to explain why so my mind took off in a million different scenarios. The way this guy seemed around her just screamed at me that he knew her well and my stupid mind jumped from her feeling guilty for something completely innocent to her having spent time with this guy on Monday. I didn't want to fight him, I didn't want to hit anything, I just wanted to leave. Alice got in my way when I wasn't looking, so when I turned to bolt away, I knocked into her shoulder. I only stayed long enough to apologize, make sure she was ok and then I took off, her friends chasing me down the street." Robert decides to intervene, to set his mind at ease. Keeping Hatter calm will get him more of the story.

"She didn't look sore and wasn't holding anything like she'd been hurt. I bet she's fine." Hatter smiles.

"Thanks for the reassurance, but while I didn't come back to stand next to her, I did hide out nearby, to keep watch." He sees Robert's eyes narrow in suspicion. "You see, I questioned myself too! I wanted to go home and cry, I wanted to go back and apologize, I wanted to leave so I didn't have to see if anything did happen. I wanted to stay in case it did happen. Mostly, I just needed to be nearby in case those guys turned on her." He takes a deep breath. "Since the first, I identified myself as her protector. I didn't think she'd even want to see me if they did try something, but I wasn't going to leave her there with three guys I didn't know. When they left, so did I. I never even approached her."

Robert sat pondering for a bit, before he responded. "I don't think you're in the wrong here Hatter. I know she's my daughter and you can't tell her what I said cause I'll deny it, but I think this thing is on her this time. She needs to open up and trust you with everything, not just her life, but her heart too." He sighs. "That may actually be my fault, my leaving her did a number, from what Carol's told me. I see it sometimes, the guarded look behind her pretty eyes, like she's not sure if she can trust me not to disappear again." He hangs his head. "I can only tell you to keep true. Be yourself, let her get as close as she will and don't push too hard at her. She'll come around, she'll learn. Patience will go along way with her, but don't be too patient." Hatter nods sagely, even if the contradicting advice had only succeeded in confusing him. Robert stands up.

"It's pretty late, I better just call back to the house to let Carol know I'm here, not roaming the streets alone and getting lost." He reaches over for Hatter's new house phone. It looks a little like the receiver on an old rotary phone, but it has no cord and no base. The mouth piece for the phone is larger than the ear piece and it has a flat, hollow bottom that has the dial pad on it. It is also violently red. Hatter had chosen it based on his claims that his old silver cordless phone was too easy to misplace and that the hilariously red phone will be hard to lose. Robert calls Carol to tell her where he is and she relays that Alice is already on her way, having left a few minutes ago. He promises to be home immediately, tells her that he loves her and hangs up.

"Carol wants me to get home so I've got to go, but if you need anything, you know where to find me. He pats Hatter on the shoulder before he turns to leave. Hatter lets him out and razzes him about being whipped until the elevator doors swallow him up. Robert just holds the stop button for a minute, until he figures Hatter will have returned to his apartment. He walks across the penthouse floor's lobby to the stairs and slips a rolled up dollar bill between the locking mechanism and the door frame to keep it open just a little. With any luck, Alice will be able to sneak up to Hatter's front door without calling attention to herself. He is in the staircase so he goes down a floor before he grabs the elevator down to the lobby. He waits there for about 5 minutes when he sees Alice coming. He motions her over, explains about the dollar holding the door for her surprise.

"I probably shouldn't meddle, but he loves you Jelly-Bean. Don't be afraid he'll hurt you." Alice smiles, reaches up and kisses his cheek.

"That's just the encouragement I needed. I'm off to go surprise him then." She gets into the elevator, rides it up as far as she can without the penthouse key and then finds the stairs. The dollar is still in the door, which means she can still surprise him. She is now in the elevator lobby and facing his door. Her pulse is so fast she thinks she might pass out, her heart beating so fast she thinks it wills stop from exhaustion. She can hear her blood rushing in her head and the only way to calm herself is to jump into the frying pan. She knocks on the door and has to take a deep breath, making her head spin a little. She can hear him getting closer and calling out as he opens the door. She puts on her most apologetic smile as their eyes meet.


	15. Chapter 15

**D.- This is it darlings, you all wanted this chapter, and now it's here. I know it's short, but if I include the M rated scene, it's obscenely long. Also, since I cut the chapter into two, I've been re-inspired and have written a few chapters ahead. Sorry it's short, but in the long run, it leads to faster updates and more story. Enjoy!**

"You still here Rob-" His speech stops as he spies Alice. "Alice!" His shock gives her a moment to squeeze in past him.

"I need to talk to you; I have a lot to say so get comfortable." Hatter just looks somewhat stunned and closes his front door gently.

"How did you get up-" Alice shushes him.

"Please Hatter, this is really hard for me, I need to get this out before I lose my nerve. You can ask me anything you want afterwards, just let me go first." Hatter smiles with his lips pressed between his teeth to show his silence and sits in the chair where Robert had been during their talk. Alice steps around the chair, opting instead to sit on the closest edge of the couch. He is fairly certain that she hasn't noticed the apartment at all. Her hands are shaking, even though they are intertwined and pressed to her lap. He looks at her, trying to convey his readiness and maybe a little strength for her. It seems to work.

"Hatter, I love you!" Alice looks shocked and stares into Hatter's overjoyed eyes. "Wait! That's not how I meant to start this conversation." Alice stands and paces the length of the coffee table as she explains herself to Hatter, without meeting his eyes. "I meant to explain about dinner and the fight and then tell you about how I felt, how I still feel. I've never felt like this before and it's completely shattered my thinking process. Let me start over, we'll come back to me loving you, I promise." Hatter laughs a little to himself as Alice resituates herself on the edge of the couch, and despite his orders to stay quiet; he just has to tell her, he's been bursting to tell her for days, so he takes a quick breath and blurts out his secret too.

"I love you too, my Alice." She stops dead for a second so he prompts her along. "Sorry, please continue." Alice still doesn't move and Hatter is about to get up when she stands from her perch and slips into his lap for a kiss. It is amazing and passionate and utterly consuming. Hatter gives one chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth as they finish. "I'm sorry for bumping into you, and for running away from you." Alice's smile dies a little.

"I'm sorry for so much; I don't really know where to start. This whole week, I've been beating myself up for not being here to help you. You've had to rely on my dad and that's supposed to be my job. When I came to Wonderland, you dropped everything for me, to watch over me, to save me." She kisses his cheek before finishing that thought.

"Thank you." She traces idle patterns on his hand as it lays on her thigh. "Here, I have a lot of commitments during a regular week and I can't walk away from any of them right now. I wanted to, I wanted to be here for you, to come and help you. Instead it was left to others. I mean, you left your world, your friends and family and I couldn't even be there once a day to see you. I'm sorry for that. I'm also sorry for my hurtful words tonight. I know I didn't believe in you at first, but very quickly I realized that I trusted you. I never would have jumped into anyone else's arms when I was trapped with those doctors. I shouldn't have kept that from you. I've trusted you for so long, I was just upset that tonight, you sort of implied that I couldn't be trusted."

Tears start to fall down her face silently, a simple manifestation of her grief. It doesn't strain her voice or make her sniffle, just makes her eyes red and puffy. Alice takes a deep breath.

"Really, I guess I didn't deserve your trust. I should have told you how I felt." She nuzzles her nose against his cheekbone and temple. "But I can change that, and I can prove it. When I talked with my mom tonight, she made me see that I sort of resent that you didn't need me. I wanted you to call me, to tell me how much you missed me and needed me. I need you to need me as much as I need you." She smiles and wipes at her face. "This is where I meant to tell you that I love you Hatter. I've loved you for so long it seems that I always have." She turns her head to face him, taking a steadying breath. "I love you, my Hatter." She places a quick kiss on his lips. Hatter takes this to be the end of her wonderful speech.

"My turn for confessions now?" His cheeky grin breaks the seriousness of the moment but Alice doesn't mind. She nods gently.

"I've had my share of feelings Alice, and I've not communicated them to you either, so I'm sorry. I've been in love with you a long time myself, since shortly after getting shot, I figured out that I'd fallen for you, I let you leave my world without telling you how I felt and that was wrong. Since coming into this world, I've been worried that I was taxing you, keeping you away from your normal life. And then I got caught up in the apartment." He makes a broad gesture and Alice finally notices the changes. She doesn't really hear the rest of Hatter's apology as she looks around. Feeling a pinch on her arm, she looks back at him, a mock glare staring back from his face. She shrinks back guiltily.

"You did a really nice job, from what I can see." She tries to placate him. He pulls her face down to meet his after whispering a single word.

"Minx!" They kiss and nibble at each other's mouths, finally free and unburdened by secret longings. Hatter slides her hips off of his knees and stands.

"Alice!" Her dazed eyes look up into his passionate ones. "I've such a need for you Alice. I did up the apartment this week so that you'd like to come by more often. I didn't fill it up with junk because I'm hoping you'll like hanging around here more often and then you'll say yes when I ask you to move in. I want you here everyday when I wake up, I want to hold you as you sleep. I want you to come from work or class and complain about how terrible it was while I make you some dinner." Alice's eyes have cleared from their aroused daze. Hatter knows he is treading on sketchy ground. "I know that it's probably not what you want yet, and that's fine, I love you enough to wait a pretty long time. But consider it an open invitation." Alice doesn't turn her head away and she doesn't smile and accept immediately, so Hatter has no idea where her thoughts are on this. He gently cups her face in his hands, placing a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Don't suppose you feel like sharing those thoughts with me huh?" Alice starts for a moment, realizing that she was shutting Hatter out again without meaning to. She takes a steadying breath.

"Oh, uhm, sure I guess. Well I was doing what my mom suggested I do a while back and in a previous relationship. She told me to weigh pros and cons. So that's what I'm doing." Hatter takes her hands, presses a kiss to both palms.

"You should think about it awhile, my lovely Alice. But not right now, I've something else I need you to think about." Alice looks confused, but Hatter just smiles lovingly. "I've loved you for longer than I've even admitted to myself, but I need to tell you, I love you, madly, my lovely Alice." Alice can feel the warmth spread from the tips of her toes to the end of her nose. His accent is thick and it pours over her senses like a warm, sunny day. She feels him lean in and press kisses to her lips, which quickly migrate to her jaw and neck. When he moves to go lower, Alice grabs his head, presses a quick, hard kiss to his lips before asking him in an aroused voice:

"So, you wanna christen the new couch or the new carpet?" Hatter grins wide.


	16. Chapter 16 M

**D.- Here we go, chapter 16, which is mature, and subsequently one of my favorite love scenes thus far. Perhaps because they've finally confessed their love and there's no angsty aftermath? Nope, that can't be it cause I love love LOVE the angsty bits! I'm not sure what it is, but I like it. Thanks muchly to my constant reviewers, you are amazing and this one is for you! **

"I've got something else to christen if you're feeling frisky my love." Intrigued, Alice smiles seductively and jumps into his arms.

"Lead on Lover, lead on." Hatter walks her into the bedroom, which Alice is pleased to note he hasn't changed much. He slides her down to stand with her back to the window in the middle of the dark room. He walks her around the little sitting area and has her look out the window. It's dark and the other buildings don't go as high as this one, but she can still make out people walking below and many of the neighboring buildings have lit rooms. She doesn't have time to feel nervous at how high they are as she feels Hatter pull off her cardigan and slide it down her arms. She shivers. She can just make out his shape in the reflection of the glass. Since the lights are off in the room behind them, the light coming from the street below is enough to see him. She reaches her arms over her head and back to tangle in his hair but he just slips his hands, palms flat, under the edge of her camisole. His calloused hands slide very slowly up her sides and up to her breasts. She closes her eyes and moans.

"Open your eyes Alice. See what I'm doing to you." Alice complies and tries valiantly to watch his movements. She can feel his heat behind her, and the sight of his hands gently caressing her breasts makes her bite her lip. She presses her bottom back into him, feeling his erection pressing against her. His hands grip the material and pull it clear off her head, throwing the camisole into the darkness of the room. Hatter's hands grip Alice's wrists as she tries to find his head once again, for some kind of anchor. She sees his hungry eyes and they share a look. Alice knows that Hatter is going to make this all about her again and the knowledge makes her shiver.

She feels his hands slide up from her wrists, along the back of her hands, to lace his fingers with hers, as he kisses her neck, and then his hands switch to the inside, palm to palm. He trails his hands over the inside of her arm, his fingernails catching lightly on the soft skin of her arm just before her elbow. Alice moaned at the feeling, barely bordering on discomfort, but it seems straining her eyes to see him clearly in the double paned glass makes every little touch more intense. He slid his hands from her inner elbow to the outer shoulder where he puts pressure on the joint of her neck and shoulder, as a masseur might have.

Alice briefly wonders if he plans on massaging her but when his hands continue down her back, she loses her train of thought. Following the curve of her shoulder blades to mid back and then using his thumbs as anchors, he glides his fingers out to ghost over her hips and then returns to the same mid back point. The pressure is just a touch hard but it feels so good to Alice that she leans her head back gently, meeting Hatter's shoulder. He presses a kiss to her temple as his hands rub their way under her arms to her breasts to play gently. Alice moans into his ear and she feels Hatter shudder against her. She nips his ear lobe as she lowers her arms to her sides and then reaches around to grip Hatter's hips. His hands slide down to her waist, pulling her roughly to him and grinding against her.

Alice bites her lip to keep from crying out again. Hatter's hands don't return to their slow, loving torture, instead they head south, undoing the button fly on Alice's skinny jeans, touching every new inch of skin with his fingertips, getting closer and closer to the area Alice wants him most. Once the buttons are free, Hatter steps back from her, leaving Alice without a support for her head. She teeters on her feet momentarily until Hatter takes her hands. He places each one on the glass in front of her for support, leaving a chaste kiss on both wrists before turning in the cage of her arms and kneeling before her. He lifts her right leg, slides off her flat and places her foot up on his right shoulder. He slips open each of the 5 buttons at her ankle, leaving soft, wet kisses on the new skin. He pays particular attention to her ankle, making Alice moan aloud before repeating himself with the left leg.

Once her pants are properly unfastened, Hatter begins placing kisses to her waist, inching the material of her blindingly white pants down her hips. He kisses all the way down her hips until he pulls the pants down to her feet. Alice takes the initiative and pulls her feet out gently, kicking her pants aside. Hatter's attention returns to her remaining garment, a pair of flesh colored lace panties. He grins as he leans into her and he hears her hold her breath. He waits there, not quite touching her until he hears her breathe again. He licks her through her panties, once, twice before settling his mouth over her. Alice's hands curled into fists against the glass as she screams out his name. His fingers slide into her waistband, pulling the stretchy fabric down her legs. Alice shivers when he lets off with his mouth, the cold air rushing to her wet mound, no longer protected by Hatter's hot mouth.

When she stands before him completely naked, he presses a kiss to her hip before standing in front of her as she lowers her arms to her sides in a daze. Hatter wastes no time, he peels off the grey t-shirt as he slides his feet along the carpet so his socks will bunch and slide off, leaving him in just his jeans and boxers. Both come down in one quick move, Hatter's eagerness to be with Alice making his movements a little jerky and uncoordinated. He gathers Alice against him, lifting her into his arms and settling her just above his throbbing member. He takes two steps over to the small lounge chair and kneels on the seat. Alice's back is against the back rest, her knees supported by the very tips of each arm rest on either side of his hips. With just a little adjusting, Alice finds and sinks herself onto Hatter, making him moan her name. Alice has very little room to maneuver and once she sinks onto Hatter, she is effectively stuck to him. Hatter begins to straighten his legs, which presses up against Alice, driving him deep and drawing a long moan from Alice's parted lips. He lets himself fall back down, Alice's weight falling just after him and gravity, that lovely sex aide, pushes Alice down fast and hard.

They continue in their blissful joining for a bit until Alice's cries began to morph. Her low moans start rising in volume, their pitch climbing equally fast. Hatter can feel her tightening a little against him, can see the aching look in her eyes and he redoubles his efforts, ignoring the burning in his thighs. He begins thrusting up harder, locking his hands around the back of the chair and rocking into it. Alice feels like each hard thrust seems to push him further and further until like a dam, her resistances burst and she screams. Hatter slows his thrusts gradually, letting Alice ride out her orgasm. When she regains her faculties enough, she notices that he is still hard inside her.

"Hatter?" She wonders, trying to rationalize why he hasn't cum for her. He grins sexily, his dimple flashing.

"I'm not yet finished my love." He slides out of her slowly and then teasingly slides back in quickly. Alice can't stop the moan but she pouts when she realizes that they aren't going to continue in the chair. Hatter pulls her up to stand and crushes her to him for a re-igniting kiss. Alice can feel his arousal pressing incessantly against her, hot and sticky. She leans against him, which pushes him back against the window. The cool glass makes him hiss in surprise, and Alice releases him to investigate the sound. Hatter leans away from the glass and then, eyes gleaming, he pulls Alice gently toward the bed, regretfully deciding that with Alice's fear of heights, taking her against the window might be a bit too much, even if she loved it in his dream last Sunday.

He backs up until he hits the bed, sitting on the very corner. He fists himself once or twice before pulling Alice down to sit on his lap, facing away from him. Alice positions herself over his now fully erect cock and sinks down blissfully. Hatter begins to bounce on the bed, the springs in the mattress assisting his sore thighs. The uncontrolled thrusts and the deep penetration make Alice's insides quiver in anticipation. She reaches an arm back to cup Hatter's face, gently caressing his stubbled cheek. Hatter nibbles on the mound of her thumb as one of his hands venture from their grip on the bed up to Alice's breasts.

He squeezes gently and strokes the nipple with his thumb just as gently, careful not to put much pressure and make her skyrocket ahead of his imminent explosion. Alice moans and nuzzles her head against his. The movement continues, growing more aggressive the louder Alice moans. Feeling himself nearing his orgasm, Hatter whispers in Alice's ear.

"I want you to touch yourself Alice." Alice slides one hand down to replace Hatter's on her breast and then using the hand that was cupping his face, she begins to tease her clit. As she plays with her clit, Hatter's newly freed hand begins to slide the fingertips along their joining, teasing the lips that surround his cock. Alice bites her lip and closes her eyes, her hand fondling her breast tightening and pinching harder.

Hatter starts nibbling and kissing her neck and shoulder because he can feel how close he is getting. He puts all of his strength into pushing as far as he can as he swirled his fingers over her lips. Moments later, he can't hold back so he releases himself into Alice as she screams her own release. They sit that way for a few moments, Hatter wrapping his arms around her waist to hold her against him, just as Alice lowers her hands to rest on his.

It is blissful and calm when Alice finally climbs off of Hatter to shuffle into the bathroom to clean up. Hatter however, decides his legs might not carry him that far, so he lays back against the bed and throws an arm over his eyes. Alice sticks her head out of the room to see Hatter looking asleep on the corner of the bed. She smiles gently and prepares a hot facecloth to clean him up. She carries it over to him and as she gets close, Hatter's arm moves.

"I thought you were asleep. I was going to clean you up before I tucked you in." Hatter smiles and takes the cloth from her hands.

"I think if you were to touch me there, I'd be sore tempted to take you again." He wipes himself up and hangs the facecloth on the baseboard frame. Alice pulls back the covers and pats the bed softly. Hatter smiles sweetly and stands carefully, his sore thighs making themselves well known for the two or three steps to the head of the bed, where he collapses tiredly. Alice pulls up the blankets around him and then mirrors his position, lying on her stomach, her face staring into Hatter's.

"I love you Hatter." His smile brightens immeasurably and he rolls himself over onto his back with a grunt. He lifts his left arm for Alice to snuggle into him, which she does immediately.

"I love you too, my Alice. Sleep well." He kisses her temple and wraps his right arm around her to rest on her hip. They both fall into a fitful sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**D.- You've all been reviewing a lot! I can't help but notice that you seem to review most when it is a mature chapter. I will do my best not to skip over the best bits then, and put as much lemony filling as possible, without ruining my flow or plotlines. Thank you all for your kind and encouraging words, I take every word to heart and it fuels the fire. I have another dozen scenes of a sexual nature rumbling about it my head and if I can, I will squeeze them in. There is a Primeval plotline trying to muscle it's way onto paper, but I refuse to start another story until this is finished. I am unsure how far into Alice and Hatter's future life I will be writing, but I have in mind a reasonable place to stop. My wild, unwritten guess is approximately 20 chapters until my reasonable conclusion, give or take a few. After the completion of Ripples, I may well take a break from Alice fiction to iron out this Primeval plot bunny. For those who know it, it seems to be set post season 4 and it links together the Primeval ARC team with it's new Canadian counterpart, which is as yet unnamed. It also involves almost a dozen Original characters, in various pairings, Conby, Jecker, pregnancy, amnesia and anomalies. I regret only that I'm useless at science so I will be taking gross advantage of several artistic liberties. Enough about that, I just saw the size of my note…sorry. Enjoy all! Next chapter is a lemon too!**

Hatter rolls in his sleep, Alice discovers, having been jostled from her pleasant oblivion. Judging from the brightness peeking through the heavy navy curtains at the foot of the bed, she figures she might as well stay up. She looks over Hatter's sleeping form and creeps from the bed with a shy smile on her face. She slips on her panties and camisole before sneaking out of the bedroom. She wants to look around the place a little so she starts with that once terrible bathroom near the front door.

Turning the light on, she now sees dark brown tiles on the floor, each square fading around the edges just a little. The walls are a warm dark beige with four black and white 4 x 6 pictures of different parts of New York set in thick black frames with large white matting. She recognizes one as the park visible from Hatter's bedroom window. Another is 'The Estate', a fine, imposing structure with its old-fashioned charm and great columns. The next is a picture taken at night of a pizzeria sign, lit up and Alice recognizes it as the one at Mirella's. The last picture is the New York Skyline, she can just make out the Statue of Liberty in the distance but the rooftops are the only things in focus.

She lets her hand trail over the edge of the countertop, a granite finish on a stained wood base. The sink looks like a large glass bowl is sitting under a tall, hands free tap. Alice runs her hand under it experimentally and it runs just a shade hotter than warm. Alice reaches for the hanging towel, a pretty beige towel with a laurel branch embroidered along the crest. She really likes the look of the bathroom and wonders where Hatter found the money to redo this place. She switches off the light and walks through to the dining area.

Gone is that terrible marble table with the high backed chairs. In their place is a simple rectangular wood table, with a dark chocolate colored stain finish. The chairs are still high backed, but they are completely covered in caramel colored suede. The wall behind the table has a fireplace surrounded by brick, with a mantle and several decorative touches sit on the fireplace mantle like an old mantle clock and some glass jars with polished glass pebbles inside. Alice takes a seat at the head of the table and nods her approval. She stands and fingers the soft flowers in the low vase that sit in the center of the table. They are simple cream colored roses with a hint of blush along the edges and Alice adores their coloring. Turning to the kitchen, Alice notices that the walls are now a gentle lime color, with pretty white tiles for the backdrop. On the stove sits a large glass teapot next to a gleaming silver electric kettle. Alice also notices the small rotating spice rack. She steps forward to investigate and finds that all the spice jars have been renamed to hold different tea flavors. She smiles broadly and shakes her head in mild exasperation. That man has a penchant for teas.

Alice moves to the living room, done in shades of blue and black, from the denim couch, which after testing properly, Alice deems entirely too perfect, to the shiny black flat screen mounted on the wall. Alice notices a single blue rose in a bud vase on the glass coffee table. She looks at it strangely, thinking that Hatter didn't have flowers in his old apartment, just incredibly vivid colors. She smiles, standing proudly in the living room of the penthouse apartment that Hatter says he redid for her. She can see herself living here. It's not really any different for travel to and from work or classes. Alice ponders a moment before her eyes light up with the idea forming in her brain.

She scours the apartment for paper and a pen. She discovers that Hatter's tastes in literature haven't changed. He has several used copies of classic stories stuffed into a cabinet built around a desk. She finds a pen and uses it to hold her hair out of her face while she continues the search. She grins like a kid in a candy store when she finds a few stacks of post-it notes, which she carries back to the kitchen. She takes down her hair and uses the pen to write the word 'PROS' in bold capitals on one note and 'CONS' on the other, placing each on separate doors of the fridge. Smiling at her neat idea, she begins to write on the papers furiously.

Sometime later, Hatter rolls over to pull Alice into him but his arms come up with no solid form, just cold air. His eyes spring open in mild panic, until he sees Alice's white denim pants on his floor. He stretches fully, hearing his spine align itself before releasing a deep breath. He climbs from the bed, blinking at the brightness before he grabs a pair of boxers and slips them on. He runs his hands through his hair as he steps out of the room and into the hall. Alice is busy leaning over the kitchen island, scribbling like mad with her bottom lip caught between her teeth playfully. He steps up behind her and kisses the nape of her neck as he wraps his arms around her waist.

"What'cha doin luv?" Alice leans against him with a sly smile.

"I'm weighing pros and cons hon." She rolls the idea of calling him 'hon' around in her head a moment and decides she doesn't really like it. She continues explaining. "I'm writing down every pro or con I can think of, and then I put them on the fridge. At the end of the week, I'm going to take a look at them again and it will help me decide." Hatter nods, understanding the idea.

"Can I contribute too then?" Alice smiles, sliding a stack of post-its over to him.

"Sure, if you can find a pen." Hatter kisses her shoulder as he steps over to the side of the fridge, pulling a pen out of the small, magnetized basket that holds a half dozen pens and pencils. He comes back to the island and leans against it, his pen resting lightly against the paper, ready to write, when he sets it down and turns to look at Alice.

"Can I read the ones you've already got? I wouldn't want to put them in twice." Alice nods as she writes down her next thought, while reading it aloud.

"Gives parents more space to get involved again." She hears Hatter sigh and she turns to look at him curiously. He looks sheepish as he explains.

"Sorry luv, I didn't mean to interrupt, but as much as I want you to have more pros than cons, shouldn't all of the pros and cons have to do with us and not your parents?" Alice looks thoughtful as she replies.

"Their getting together again will make me very happy, so I think this one fits. I just won't put in the 'Mom will miss having me around'." Hatter smiles as he pulls the only con off the fridge. Hatter notices Alice is suddenly staring at him. He reads it aloud.

"Only breadwinner." Hatter looks over at Alice, confused by the term. She blushes under his gaze. "What does breadwinner mean Alice?"

"Breadwinner? Uh, it's the person who brings home the money you need to buy food and pay bills. I'm the only one with a job here, so I would need to work more to afford this place." Hatter nods understandingly before he speaks.

"Well the bills will be a little higher with two people here, but Jack gave me this place, already paid in full. I've used 30, 000 of the money he left me while redoing this place, and getting some necessities, but I still have a good amount of money left. You can worry about school and training at the dojo and I can support us for a while." Alice is afraid to ask her next question, but it has the potential to change her outlook on this whole situation.

"Exactly how much money did Jack leave you Hatter?" Hatter would have worried if it had been anyone but Alice, but he knows she doesn't care about his money.

"I have just over two hundred thousand left in the bank." He says it so simply, like he was saying that he went out and got a newspaper. Alice schools her features into mild interest, although suddenly, she feels like ripping up her only con and moving in today. She fights back her urges and instead just says:

"I guess I can stop worrying about how I will support both of us and finish my business degree. That's a relief." She looks at Hatter, who has applied himself to tearing up the only con thus far. Hatter then sets himself to writing his own pros and cons, although his first two papers are placed directly under the 'PROS' note. She smiles to herself and thinks of her gifts for Hatter. She trails her hand across his hip, just grazing his rear as she makes her way to the bedroom. Hatter stops writing, calling out her name.

"Alice?" She doesn't slow down or turn back; she just calls out that she'll be right back over her shoulder, which was muffled by the direction and volume, so Hatter turns to follow her. He enters the bedroom to see Alice digging into her duffle bag. She pulls out two gifts, which she immediately tucks behind her back. She flushes as she explains.

"These were also part of my surprise last night. I was going to give you these sometime near the first time I said I love you." She pulls out the flat, square gift and gestures Hatter to sit and open in on the bed. She sets it in his lap as soon as he sat, sitting in front of him. He looks down at the gift, his eyes a little shiny.

"If I had known we were going to exchange gifts, I would have-" Alice uses her now free hand to shush him.

"If I had wanted to exchange gifts, I would have told you. This is a surprise that I made for you. I don't expect a gift from you every time I do something nice for you babe." She tests the word babe in her head as Hatter smiles and flips over the gift to find the paper seam. She decides against 'babe' as well. Hatter rips open the paper and flips it over to find the cover of the calendar has a pretty picture of Alice, all decked out in her Gi, the picture focused on her face as she grins saucily at the photographer. Hatter exclaims at the picture.

"Did you model for a calendar?" Alice looks both amused and embarassed.

"No dear. It's something that I had made. You pick out pictures and send them to a store and they put your pictures into a calendar for you." Alice immediately regrets the 'dear' nickname as she suddenly feels like an old maid. Hatter nods his understanding as he starts looking at the January picture. Alice is all bundled up, a warm winter jacket, with a powdered sugar coating on the ground. Her eyes are bright and her cheeks are pink from the cold, but Hatter can't take his eyes off of her. Alice explains that she was walking with her mom back from some event or other her mom had had to go to for work. They'd been a little buzzed and decided to walk over to her mom's friend's house for an after party.

Hatter smiles at the thought of a slightly tipsy Alice as he flips over to the February Alice. She is dressed in a killer red dress, one he recognizes as the one she had worn to the dance club. It is twisted differently, and she is wearing a lacy black shawl and black strappy sandals. She looks so pale with all the dark around her, but her lovely complexion just makes her look like a porcelain doll. He flips to March, to see Alice kneeling in the grass, planting a tree. She has smudges of dirt on her face near the hairline and on her bright green shirt that says "Earth Day" Alice explains that Earth day is a relatively new idea, where people all over the world take steps to reduce their impact on the earth. She also explains that her dojo sponsors a dozen trees to be planted in different areas every year on that day.

Hatter flips to the month of April, to see Alice leaning in behind her mom, who is seated at a table with a small cake in front of her with a single candle. Both are smiling into the camera, faces pressed tight together. Hatter looks down and sees a small scrawled note on April 18th saying 'Carol's birthday'. Hatter files away the knowledge as he turns to the May picture. His breath catches in his throat as he sees a big pink sign that says "I love you Hatter." He looks over to Alice who smiles proudly. His previously watery eyes had to blink double time to ward off the tears. He leans forward and kisses Alice gently on the lips, pulling back when he notices his lip is quivering a little with repressed emotion.

Hatter mumbles a small thank you and then stands up.

"Where should I hang this then? On the fridge? Maybe over the desk?" Alice thinks that the kitchen is a good place for a calendar, but the fridge is busy for now so he hangs it just inside the cabinet door that houses the mugs. Hatter uses some tape to put it up and Alice just smiles and pulls out her second gift, handing it to Hatter.

"It's not as well wrapped, or as lovey-dovey, but I don't think the soap in your bathroom suits you. This one…" She points to the Ocean Fresh soap. "…this one smells the most like the one you had in Wonderland." Hatter smiles at her.

"Thank god, I hate that smelly crap Jack left behind. I just never thought to replace it in my travels this week." He laughs when he sees the deodorant. Alice looks concerned for a moment until he takes her hand and pulls her along to the bathroom. He removes the deodorant she has picked and sets it next to the one he has purchased. They are identical. "Guess you know my tastes pretty well, right luv?" Alice gets a wicked gleam in her eyes.


	18. Chapter 18 M

**D.- Hello again all! Been a while since I updated, shame on me. I could tell you all the excuses in the world, but at the end of it all, I just need to make some time to write more. I apologize and submit a smutty, lemon filled treat to appease my guilty conscience. If I'm not mistaken, the next chapter may also have a little lemony goodness, as extra incentive to forgive me. It's not completely written yet, but I will try to finish it up around work. Take care all and enjoy!**

"You know, I could use a little more practice with your taste baby." She immediately dismisses baby from her repertoire, it makes her sound like a whore. She pushes Hatter up against the counter and slides her hands down his naked chest. His hands drop the body wash onto the counter and pulls her face up to meet his, both hands locking into her hair and his lips taking hers. Alice licks his bottom lip before pulling it into her teeth, nibbling and sucking at it. Hatter moans as his hands disengage from her head to slide down her neck and shoulders, down to her ass, as he pulls her tight against him.

Alice moans aloud, Hatter grinning at the sound. Alice pulls her lower body back, to Hatter's obvious dismay and when he reaches for her, Alice pins his hand down to the counter. His other hand tries to grab for her, but Alice grabs his wrist, pushing it back against the mirror. Hatter shoots her a look, that Alice reads as 'This won't actually hold me' so she climbs onto his boxer clad lap, pressing herself up against his belly. She bends her head to lick at the shell of his ear.

"You are my tasty treat. I suggest you stay very still, I'd hate to crush something by accident." Hatter knows she'd never, even by accident, but he plays along.

"I'll be good." Alice grins against the side of his face, her hot breath rushing out against his ear. She makes sure to let her lips rub against his ear as she speaks her next words.

"Then I will just have to be great, now won't I Handsome?" Hatter sits, pinned to the counter and the mirror as he digests that name. The others he'd heard Alice call him ring false and sound off and unnatural, like she is going out of her way to name him. Handsome doesn't seem too realistic to him, but she obviously believes it. Humble and still unbelievably horny, he just silently hopes she will continue to think him so later on. Alice doesn't care about his nick name at the time, she just wants to taste him. She licks a path around the shell of his ear, breathing just a shade heavier than she needs to, making Hatter think she is panting for him.

She slides back a little, and despite holding Hatter's hand down to the counter, it still shoots out to catch her hip to keep her from falling, but makes no move to be overly sexual. Alice allows it and brings her now free hand up to assist in the tasting. She trails her lips and tongue over his neck and collarbone and when she pulls away, she locks eyes with Hatter, licks her lips and whispers.

"Delicious." She bends her head, almost as far as she can before catching a tight peak in her mouth. She swirls her tongue around and laps at it while her free hand grazes the other with her nails gently. Hatter gasps and Alice grins against his skin. Alice ghosts her hand along his ribs and thigh to grab the hand holding her on his lap. She pulls both of his hands down to rest on the counter as she slides off of his lap to stand at the counter. The coolness from the marble countertop is seeping through her panties and cooling her down. She continues to tease his nipples with her mouth and teeth, getting gradually more aggressive when each time she thinks she's gone a little too far, he moans her name or cries out in pleasure. She trails her hands up his arms and across his shoulders so that her arms are crossed as she drags her nails down his chest until they catch in the waistband of his boxers.

She licks her lips as she looks into his eyes. Silently, Hatter uses his arms to lift himself a little off of the counter, his arms and chest muscles tensing at the strain. Alice slides the boxers down, pulling them to mid thigh before Hatter lowers himself again. Alice can see he is aroused, can just make out that tiny little drop of pre-cum glistening on his stiff cock and it makes her hungry. She slides the boxers down and he spreads his legs as far as he can with the limited counter space. Alice leans in and smells him, the musky, manly smell making her aroused even further. She tentatively licks a line up his cock, from the lowest hanging point of his balls to that sparkling little drop of pre-cum, which she enjoys thoroughly. She finds it difficult to get her face in close enough to take him into her mouth any deeper than the tip, so she lifts one of his legs over her shoulder before deep-throating him in one swift, scream causing move.

Hatter just about shatters from the intense feeling of being surrounded, warm and wet by Alice's mouth. Her tongue begins to wiggle as she slides up and down, first to the left, then across the top to the right. He bites his lip hard as a hand reaches up to cup his balls and massage them around gently, tugging every so often just hard enough to make him moan. He can feel a tightness forming in his belly, and he wants Alice to make him cum. She nips just a tiny bit on the head of his cock, making him cry out.

"Alice!" She smiles evilly and pulls her panties down and off before she begins to stand up from her task. She lowers his leg, gestures him to slide forward to the edge of the counter before she lifts her left leg onto the counter. She then lifts his leg and wraps it around her waist before settling herself up on the counter. Hatter lets his knee rest on her thigh, reaches around her to support her back and bum while Alice positions herself to sink onto him. The position has him sinking deep inside her, but at such an angle that he can just tense his bum muscle to help sink a little further.

Alice has one foot flat and the other leg bent so that her knee is supporting her weight. She raises herself up a little and then grinds down against him. Her one hand tangles in his hair as the other rests on her calf, assisting with lifting herself. Hatter is getting close to release so he begins trying to encourage Alice along. Hatter isn't flexible enough to reach her breasts with his mouth, so he frees a hand to go tease her clit as she grinds against him. Alice can feel him stretching and filling her up, she feels so close to him, she swears she can feel his veins as they rush the blood into his already full to bursting member. She focuses on Hatter's fingers as they come to rub and pinch her clit. She can see he is close, he's broken out into a sweat, his breathing is labored and he can't look at her.

Alice uses her hand that was tangled in his hair to make him face her and looking into his eyes, she knows the moment he lets go, she knows the rush of victory as she feels him pulse deep within her. She stills to let him ride out his wave of pleasure but Hatter uses the hand on her bottom to urge her along. He looks up to her and nods once before whispering to her through the hazy fog of orgasm.

"Don't stop til you cum luv." Alice nods to him as she begins again to lift and grind herself onto him. His hand resumes his play with her clit and within moments, her scream breaks the sound of heavy breathing. He doesn't stop his play with her clit as she rides the powerful orgasm until she collapses against him. Hatter doesn't find this position nearly as comfortable as it pulls his leg too far up. He makes a gasp of pain and Alice slides off him immediately. She frets a moment as Hatter tries to reassure her that he is fine now. When he stands he feels a sharp sting in his leg, but it is easily concealed.

He steps over and turns on the shower, letting it heat up as he strips Alice out of her camisole. They step into the shower together, Hatter under the hot water first. A moment later, Alice jumps out of the shower, races across the tile floor to grab the new body wash. She slips a little as she reaches the shower again, but is quickly enveloped in Hatter's strong arms as they rinse away the proof of their pleasures.

Hatter and Alice take their time getting dressed and Hatter escorts Alice around the place, discussing the improvements. They stop when Alice rushes back to the kitchen island and scribbles down a new pro or con, although most ran along the lines of 'Sound proofed walls in master bedroom.' Or 'Guestroom has amazing closet' and 'lots of new places to christen.' This last thought, spoken aloud as she writes it makes Hatter grasp her from behind, pulling himself into her and nibbling on her neck. Smiling naughtily, Alice turns to face him just as his stomach grumbles. Alice laughs, kisses his lips gently and they begin to decide on dinner.

They call in some Chinese food, ordering a little of almost everything for Hatter to try. Once their meal is finished, Alice helps Hatter put it all away before double-checking her bag and heading off to her 4 pm class. Hatter gives her his key and waves her off with a sad smile and as soon as she is down the lift, he tears off to the pros and cons, jotting down every pro he can think of. He starts stretching the pros along the wall beside the fridge, leaving that section of the wall looking like bright yellow shingles. He writes until he runs out of post-its and then decides to make some tea and read a book while he waits for Alice to return.


	19. Chapter 19 M

**D.- Oh my goodness this took forever to write. I know I've apologized profusely for my tardiness in posting, but again, lemon treats make a good peace offering. I've officially posted this before I've started chapter twenty so I can almost promise chapter 20 will be a bit, but it will have lemon and maybe moving and then a great big wonderland surprise! The story blurb promises that Wonderland just can't leave our heroes alone, so I'm going to bring it back in a big way! *mad cackle* Thanks for the reviews, They really inspire me to write some more every time I get one, even if I don't write a whole chapter, having something started helps the next time I get a review and try to write some more. I'm sure once the issues I'm dealing with take a flying leap I'll be more in the mood to write and I'll get a bit ahead, so I'll let you guys know what to expect when I post the as yet unwritten chapter 20.**

It was a good weekend class, first the class she taught at 4pm for all levels and then she took part in her sensei's class, for brown belt or higher. The class was held to give students a chance to improve their knowledge and technique on other students and Sensei Chang oversees it so as to know who is ready to be recommended for their next belt or stripe. Alice, being a black belt with a few dans, is not likely to advance yet, but she makes herself available to peer assist other students as well as to learn from them.

After Chang's class, she is a little worn down, most likely from being thrown around for the better part of an hour. Alice changes into simple yoga pants and a loose sweater, tucking her gi away in her duffle before exiting the change room. She is quickly stopped by a group heading out for a beer. She declines their invitation, saying that not only wasn't she dressed for going out, but she is also anxious to get home to her boyfriend. Several catcalls and raised eyebrows later, Alice steps out to hail a cab, heading to her mom's for a few changes of clothing. Alice walks to Hatter's happily, her I pod playing upbeat songs that make her want to dance around.

Arriving back at the apartment, Alice finds Hatter reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study In Scarlet. Alice climbs onto the couch, wedging herself between his legs, letting her head rest on his chest. Hatter slides one arm around her to rest on her chest, while the other holds his book. He finishes the page, closes the book over his finger to keep his place and presses a kiss to her head.

"How was your day, Luv?" Alice yawns involuntarily.

"Class went fine, I'm feeling a little stiff from being thrown around, but otherwise, I'm great. How's your book?" Hatter shrugs his shoulders.

"I've only just started it about a half hour ago. I was preoccupied before this." Alice turns her head up to look him in the eyes, the puzzled look making Hatter grin. "See for yourself luv, I've just been hard at work on the pros and cons is all." Alice's eyes grow wide in shocked fear, but she stands and makes her way to the kitchen, her hat toting shadow following close behind. The wall of yellow makes her blink. How had she missed THAT on the way in? Alice laughs at the sheer amount of pros. She reads through each one dutifully, most being sexual in nature and a few making her giggle aloud. It's the single con that catches her attention and Alice pulls it off the fridge to read it carefully.

"Harder for Alice to get to know Rob." Alice smiles a watery smile. "Hatter, you must be the most amazing man I've ever met. You fill up the fridge and wall with pros, like putting 'More fighting' into the pros, because it will lead to 'More make-up sex' and yet you put this honest, thoughtful idea in the cons." Alice puts it back on the fridge in the cons section and snuggles into Hatter's chest. He wraps his arms around her and kisses the top of her head tenderly before venturing.

"Well there's no way to spin that into a pro now is there?" Alice laughs as she pulls away gently.

"We'll have to condense the pros a little." She takes a few pros off the fridge, reading them out to Hatter.

" 'Christen the bed' 'counter sex' and 'fucking in the lounge chair' should all go, we've already done those." Hatter reaches for them, trying to argue.

"But we've only christened one lounge chair Alice, what about the other?" Alice laughs at his eagerness, but doesn't relent.

"I trust you won't forget the other chair Hatter, but we don't need a post-it for it."

Alice begins stacking related post-its, mostly by room, so that all the sticky notes fit on the fridge. She smiles as she notices that not all the notes are about sex. He's included the things he'd wanted when he told her that he loved her. 'waking next to each other in the morning', 'holding each other as they sleep' and 'learning to cook better to feed her' are some of her favorite notes. She turns around to face Hatter when her task is complete but he is no longer there. She calls out in the apartment.

"Hatter?" She can just hear the rumble of the water as it fills the large tub and when she cracks open the door to the bathroom; she smells the vanilla candles that are lit around the tub. The mostly naked Hatter makes her grin saucily. Stepping into the room, she closes the door, blocking out the evening sun. The shades have been drawn over the bathroom window and the only light is the dozen candles lit around the tub and on the counter near the mirror. She pulls off her oversized sweater and curls herself into Hatter's chest. Hatter holds her tight as he whispers.

"Sorry if it's not what you wanted. You said you were stiff and I thought a nice warm soak in the tub would make it all better." Alice mumbles something against his chest before she begins to trail her lips across his pecs, and that little bit of wetness on the inside of her lip leaves a trail that cools when she breathes heavily. Hatter, standing in only his pants and boxers, shivers at the contact, running his hands up her back slowly until he reaches the hem of her sports bra. Slipping his fingers under the hem of the offending garment, he spreads his hands against the confined flesh, hooking his thumbs around the straps before pulling on the bra, forcing Alice to lean back and lift her arms carefully.

Hatter throws the bra to the ground near the shower, where there are no candles to be knocked over. He notices with alarm that the water is beginning to get high, so he leans over to stop the flow. Alice wraps her hands around his waist and plasters herself to his back as he stands back up, her hands catching hold of the waistband and pulling his pants and boxers down. She kneels at his feet, pulling the material out of the way before she pulls her pants and panties down to her ankles, standing up slowly, stretching her legs and jutting out her miniscule behind just a little before kicking the material to the door.

She steps past Hatter and into the water, reclining into the far 'u' shaped indent quickly with a hiss of pain and then a pleased mumble when the heat begins to sink in.

Hatter knows he made the water a little hotter than he prefers it, so he steps in gingerly where the water will just barely cover his ankles, running his hands into the water and then lifting some water along his calves to get himself used to the temperature. Alice watches him bend and straighten with naked arousal in her eyes. She reaches over and begins to run her warm wet hands up his naked legs in the same manner.

Hatter raises an eyebrow in challenge before stepping into a slightly deeper part of the indent. Alice continues her motions, now reaching just about mid thigh. Hatter's brain seems to take leave of him so she begins covering both legs at once, first outside the thigh, and then slowly smoothing her hands over the inner thigh, so that she almost touches his balls. Hatter thinks he will be clever and sit down in the water but their tempting little game makes him forget that he is only getting in slowly to avoid the burning hot water on his sensitive skin.

He curses aloud when he sits in the water and makes a comment under his breath that sounds suspiciously like '…like I'mma damn crab' Alice begins to run her hands up his chest, up to his shoulders and around his neck as soon as he stops grumbling. She slides over to him and curls herself into the seat with him. Alice rests her back against the headrest, leaving her legs gently resting on Hatter's spread legs. He pushes himself a little closer, feeling just his tip slide against the soft flesh at the joint between her legs. Alice feels the hot water displaced by something a lot firmer and the swirl of water sends a small tingle up her spine, making her arch out of the water. She knows the air to be warm but it feels like the arctic to her overheated breasts. Hatter curls his feet down into the small indent in the 'u' shaped seat. He leans forward and captures Alice's breasts in his mouth, using his hand to help along her sharp cries.

Alice slides her hands down his chest, along his ribs to the very hard, aching member making the water swish by her most sensitive parts. She grips him tightly in both of her hands, giving him a gentle, experimental tug. When his mouth bites down in pleasure, Alice cries out his name. She begins to rub her hands loosely over him, one hand heading to the tip, the other sliding down to trace a finger over the curves of his balls before switching. Hatter releases her abused nipple and latches firmly onto her neck. The slight chlorine taste doesn't deter him from his goal. He assaults her neck, moaning into her ear, telling her the naughty little things that he wants to do to her.

"I'm going to love taking you in the water. I want to feel you all around me, wet and wanting, when I thrust into you. The water will make you less slippery, so that we will feel every rib and dip on the other's body. The heat of the water will make us hotter than ever, it's going to feel like being burned every time I slip inside that sweet pussy of your Alice, and you're going to love it. I want to fuck you senseless in here, get dirty from the sweaty water and then I'm going to help you into that shower and do it all over again as we get clean. Won't that be fun, my Alice?"

He kisses his way to her lips where he completely dominates her. Her lips are surely bruised and her tongue is tired from the strain of trying to keep up with the raw need he is projecting at her. When Alice finally gives up trying to overpower him in the kiss and surrenders to him, he releases her with a grin.

"That's right luv, give in to me and we'll have a truly wicked night." Alice can barely nod as Hatter moves. First, he sits in the other seat, which has no indent in the middle. The new seat is literally a 'u' shape, whereas the side Alice is in has degrees of indentation to rival most staircases. He gently takes Alice by the shoulders and slides her over to his side. He kisses her again, and she fights with him for a bit, just to make him glory in his win. He presses her into the seat, their legs tangled in the middle and their heads at either end. Hatter arranges them so that his legs are on the outside and then pulls Alice's feet up to his chest, kissing each ankle.

Hatter scoots himself forward until he feels her against him. Alice pulls herself back just enough to arrange herself comfortably on his rock hard erection. Hatter keeps his hands busy teasing her ankles and calves as she tries to establish a rhythm by pushing off of his chest. A single thrust later, Alice slides her feet off of his chest and rests them on the headrest behind him, giving her a great support to push off of. In moments, she is undulating her back to increase the forward momentum and Hatter flexes his legs and pushes off of any surface in the tub that will allow it. His hands stray down to her knees, rubbing deliciously slow circles under her knees and Alice has never felt the like. The combination of warm water and smooth, slick hands on some completely untouched part of her body makes her arousal shoot through the roof.

Alice's hands trail all the way up to her breasts, squeezing and pulling on her nipples as she moans, low and long. Hatter revels in the new sound, pushing back harder with each thrust. He can feel the heat pooling, knows he isn't going to last much longer. His hands travel down the back of her thighs to the place where their bodies meet. He trails gentle fingers around the outer lips, pulling them away from their joining, making the hot water rush in and Alice lets out a long 'mmm' of sensation. His fingers flex and stroke and rub every inch of flesh, paying particular attention to her clit, just a shade less lubricated because of the water. The sensation hits Alice like gasoline, and it travels as far as it can along her nerves before it explodes in a primal scream that shocks Hatter. Alice rocks against him in a fury of bucking hips and wandering hands as she abandons her breasts for his thighs, squeezing and dragging her short, blunt nails along his skin in a last ditch effort to get him as close to ecstasy as she is.

Their mutual cries fill the small bathroom when Hatter pinches her clit and thrusts up as hard as he can as the floodgates burst. When they sufficiently catch their breath, Alice lifts herself off and she spins her legs into the space between the two seats and then curls into his chest for a cooling water snuggle.

"This was a great idea, just what I needed. Thank you." She rolls herself over, snuggling her back into Hatter's chest and swishing the water around in front of her.

"I know we're doing the Pros and Cons thing about me moving in, and I really appreciate that you took the time to find at least one con, so that you didn't look like you were trying to influence me, but I think I've made up my mind. It's obvious that I'm not going to find more cons, and if I did, they would be so small compared to all the great things we'll get by living together. So I've decided that for the next week, I'll live here, with you and we'll give it a go. If after my last class Saturday, you remembered that I teach two classes tomorrow right?" Hatter smiles and nods, at a loss for words and Alice continues her original train of thought. "If after my last class Saturday we've not destroyed this place in a colossal argument, I'll use my Sunday off to pack my stuff and we can move my stuff over. Sound fair?"

"You just want me and Rob to do the heavy lifting! Typical!" He says with a sly smile. Alice turns to look at him, outrage flowing over her features until she catches his teasing smile. She lightly taps his shoulder before standing up out of the bath.

"I need to get clean now, so I'll just hop in the shower quick." Hatter watches, his arousal growing as she steps gingerly up onto the opposite seat and then out of the tub. Her long legs are dripping wet and with the light of the nearby candles, he can't tell if the water on her inner thighs is just that or something _spunkier._ Alice flicks on the overhead light in the shower alcove and steps out of sight. All thoughts of sleep and moving and her family disappear as he pulls the plug on the tub, hops out of the tub and blows out the nearby candles. He makes his way to the dimly lit alcove that houses his stand up shower and the soft, wet prize waiting for him inside.


End file.
